Ten thousand tickets have been sold for 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier between Bafana Bafana and Benin at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday (15:00), iDiski Times has been informed.
This will come as good news for Bafana, who have seen a lack of attendance in many home games in recent years due to them often underperforming on the international stage.
But the current generation around coach Hugo Broos have somewhat lifted the spirits in the country after going 11 games unbeaten and qualifying for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations.
There has been a huge public outcry to take Bafana matches outside of Gauteng as FNB Stadium or Orlando Stadium has experienced a sparse crowd – something which has not gone down well for coach Broos.
In playing matches in Gauteng, the South African Football Association (SAFA) was trying to save some money because as soon as the opposition arrives in the country, the FA has to foot the bills for additional flights and accommodation if matches are taken to another province.
This publication has been led to believe that the final crowd at Moses Mabhida Stadium will be close to 20,000 by the time the game starts on Saturday, with the winner set to go on top of Group C after Nigeria were stunningly held to a 1-1 draw by 153rd-ranked Lesotho in Uyo on Thursday.
Rwanda also could not take advantage of playing at home, as they drew goalless with Zimbabwe on Wednesday.
Bafana will be playing in Durban for the first time since beating Sao Tome 2-0 in 2020 in a 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match.
