Venue change for Bafana Afcon qualifier confirmed as Safa make plea to PSL

The South African Football Association (Safa) has confirmed a new venue for Bafana Bafana’s African Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier against Liberia.

Bafana are due to play Liberia in back-to-back Afcon qualifiers during the Fifa international break from March 20 to 28.

The first fixture will be played in South Africa while the return leg will now be staged in the capital city of Liberia, Monrovia.

Initially, the return leg was set to be played in Morocco, who are in the same group as Bafana and Liberia, due to the stadium in Monrovia not meeting Fifa standards.

However, Safa CEO Tebogo Motlanthe said Liberia has upgraded the stadium and Fifa has apparently approved it to host Bafana.

Safa weren't happy with the decision as they had written to the Confederation of African Football pleading with them not to allow Morocco to play Liberia twice at home.

Safa technical director Walter Steenbok said to prepare for the match, they have sent someone on a fact-finding mission to Liberia.

“We are sending someone on a fact-finding mission to Monrovia because we understand that area has not really hosted international matches,” Steenbok said.

“So we don’t want to leave anything to chance, that’s why we are sending someone.

“We have already spoken to someone in the South African embassy in Liberia to help us facilitate the fact-finding mission — to understand the travelling, the distance and also the training venues.”

Steenbok also revealed that they have written to the Premier Soccer League (PSL) to stop their fixtures early in March to give Bafana more time to prepare.

PSL fixtures are scheduled to go on break from March 19 while the international break begins on March 20.

“It’s important for Bafana Bafana to qualify for Afcon in 2024 in Ivory Coast and as part of the support to the team,” he said.

“We have written to the Premier Soccer League to request if it is possible that the fixtures could end on the 18th (of March).

“We understand that the Fifa weekend starts on the 19th (of March) but we think that an extra day will help the team.”

There’s only one PSL match on March 19 which is between TS Galaxy and Richards Bay.

Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.