Bafana Bafana coach Stuart Baxter is likely to get his wish with the country’s next two home African Nations Cup qualifiers set for the FNB Stadium.
Although an official announcement has not yet been made‚ TimesLIVE understands that the team’s next fixture‚ a home clash with Seychelles‚ is set to be staged on Saturday‚ October 13 at the Soweto venue with a 15h00 kickoff.
The side will then travel to Stade Linite in Roche Caiman for the return on Tuesday‚ October 16 in what is a vital double-header to Bafana’s chances of reaching the continental finals in Cameroon next June.
The team’s penultimate qualifier after that is home to Nigeria‚ with that match set for Saturday‚ November 17 at 15h00‚ also at FNB Stadium.
They then travel to a neutral north African country to face Libya next March.
Baxter had bemoaned the fact that Saturday's home clash with Libya‚ which ended in a disappointing 0-0 draw‚ had been taken to sea level in Durban‚ giving up the advantage of altitude that can play such a big role for visiting teams.
“The venue [Durban]‚ as a sea level venue for sea level people‚ I suppose you would want to take them to altitude‚” Baxter said last week.
"I was told that was impossible. I don't want to go into the reasons and whys and wherefores. We're here. We're playing the game here.”
Bafana have played at either FNB Stadium or Orlando Stadium‚ both at the same altitude‚ just four times in the last four years and on each occasion‚ they have ended up victorious.
They beat Burkina Faso 3-1 in a World Cup qualifier at FNB Stadium in October 2017‚ and edged Egypt‚ Senegal and Zambia all 1-0 in Orlando.
Their previous match at FNB Stadium prior to the Burkinabe clash was a fairly disastrous 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Brazil in March 2014‚ though the nature of the game meant the South Americans could use six substitutes to keep their side fresh.
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