SAFA’s use of Bloemfontein Stadium has new implications for CAF, FIFA

 

By Ed Emeanua

 

 

South Africa Football Association (SAFA) use of Bloemfontein Stadium has new implications for CAF and FIFA, as both bodies face close scrutiny over suspicion for weaponizing the ongoing 2026 Africa FIFA World cup qualifiers in favor of Bafana.

 

Current Confederation of African Football (CAF) blueprint since 2021 is culpable for the ongoing weaponization of the African world cup qualifiers to actualize SAFA’s World Cup ambition.

 

SAFA’s, recent use of the Bloemfontein Stadium, with both CAF and FIFA approval, is directly at odds with the Confederation’s public pronunciations and actions. This contradiction unfurls new and dire implications for CAF and FIFA in the ongoing 2026 World Cup Qualifiers (WCQ).

 

The use of what is arguably one of the continent’s worst stadiums, now challenges the sincerity in CAF’s current austere guideline to drive the building and restoration of standard stadiums accross Africa.

 

Since the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) also gave their blessing to last week’s use of the substandard infrastructure in Bloemfontein, the global football governing body is also complicit in the clear design to favor Bafana for World Cup qualification.

 

Tuesday September 9, 2025 South Africa versus Nigeria FIFA CAF 2026 WCQ: The appalling state of the Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein, South Africa, is evident

 

The continental and world footballing governments can be accused of weaponizing the ongoing FIFA, CAF, Africa World Cup qualifying play to favor South Africa’s qualification for next year’s tournament in Mexico, Canada, and United States of America (USA), seemingly at all cost. 

 

From 2021, the Confederation of African Football (CAF), has adopted a strict policy that directs the building and restoration of standard arenas in the continent. At startup, the plan compelled 17 of CAF’s 53 African national teams to host their FIFA and CAF Africa WCQ home games on neutral grounds over unavailability of good stadiums in those countries.

 

The approach was intended to force affected nations to target and hasten sports infrastructure construction and revamping, in exchange for avoiding country shaming. Culpability thereof, has attracted automatic forfeiture of hosting right for home WCQ games.

 

Guilty federations have been subjected to host international games on foreign soil. The plan has FIFA’a acquiescence and it’s being sternly enforced in what is now proving to be against vulnerable countries in the ongoing FIFA, CAF Africa WCQ.

 

Dark blueprint and love of mammon

 

However, as archaic as this practice sounds, it is mind boggling that it has the full support of FIFA. Also, arguably the rawest paradigm of a reverse transactional compliance that follows an already confirmed international humiliation in real time, the draconian policy appears to be on steroids.

 

As shocking as it may sound, while victimized African football federations appear to be sheepishly falling in line in adherence to the harsh policy, the poorest among them are openly being led to slaughter. This is the very essence of the dark blueprint, if at all there is one.

 

The norm for decency and international respect seems to have been overruled, and it seems as if the considerations for these principles are not worth a dime anymore in the ongoing FIFA, CAF Africa WCQ.

 

Ironically, this is all happening before world purview of football. With FIFA’s okaying this draconian policy, weak African football federations are being strong armed as they strive to continue providing their citizens a healthy dose of international games in a football crazy continent.

 

For them to actualize an already arduous responsibility with their meager resources, poor federations have now been further pressured into sheepish acquiescence, under present bullying and international humiliation.

 

Football, how addictive thou art? Why do people love and die you so? Why do they act as if drunk with stupidity in the sight of thou? They have been known to kill, destroy, and ruin theirs and others, and peoples’ families for the sake of you. And, all these, for what? Over the in the name of loving you so? What power thou possess o football!

 

Now, who was it that said football is not an opium for the people? Who was it that said that the Beautiful Game doesn’t have the magical efficacy to make people forget their pains in a moment of sheer ecstatic euphoria? Who said football doesn’t help people find their elusive panacea for their existential hopelessness, even if for just the moment?

 

It’s not a trifling matter to say to the school of naysayers that they are dead wrong. If you are still a skeptic, take a hard look at the ongoing FIFA, CAF Africa 2026 WCQ to see how football has made real people in the continent to agree to roll down and die when asked by CAF and FIFA to do so.

 

Rather than speak out and be heard, just because they don’t want to suffer football deprivation, the continent’s poorest football federations are openly demonstrating that they would rather accept to drink wine mixed with gall than show that they indeed have sturdy backbones.

 

Pray, what does it profit a man if he gained the whole wide world but lost his football? And, we have be forever told that we aren’t required to serve both God and a mammon like football, or haven’t we?

 

However, herein lie the truth. On paper, CAF’s scheme is shockingly strange, crass, and draconian. However, in practice, the dark blueprint has gradually evolved into a deliberate systemic weaponization of CAF to achieve the footballing progression and interests of some favored African federations.

 

It is now notable that, as draconian as the CAF policy appears to be, even on paper, it’s enforcement by the continental body with FIFA’s support, is apparently overtly selective and out-rightly biased.

 

Union of convenience

 

 

Lately, CAF and FIFA seem to have been very busy and mired in a union of convenience for allies with common interest in the ongoing FIFA/CAF African WCQ. There is the appearance of an understanding for forging a mini-me of football association of South Africa out of a sinister CAF policy in cahoots with the federation of world football. FIFA.

 

The shocking evidence of this union of minds with ominous plans and deeds, though with years of drive, is sadly, slowly beginning to take shape before global audience. as the African qualifiers screeches to its close.

 

It is pertinent to point out this CAF and FIFA’s public approaches to weaponize the continent’s 2026 WCQ for SAFA’s gains at all cost, due to the need for making fair play in international football nonnegotiable.

 

This is because CAF’s openly public unfairness in African football, in connivance with FIFA especially in the ongoing WCQ rounds, is now overtly brazen and clearly very ugly. It is obvious that highly biased trend and appalling treachery wouldn’t have gained the level of traction and success it has recently attained, had FIFA not aided and abetted the African Confederation in effecting its public favoritism for SAFA.

 

Before the June 2024 rounds of the 2026 WCQ, an unsuspecting world audience had been told that almost half of CAF national affiliates that were publicly affirmed by CAF and FIFA to be playing their games at home, were in reality, being forced under the body’s new scheme to host their opponents under foreign skies.

 

The targets in this mode so far, have been the weaker federations of the continent. With the conspicuous benefactors being few selected stronger national associations here and there, the euphoria associated with international football, made us all to dismiss this appearance of bias with a wave of hand.

 

But with hindsight and a closer scrutiny, is now clear to all that almost all groups in the Africa FIFA, CAF 2026 WCQ the qualifiers, seem to have some form of this unfair arrangement.

 

However, in no other group has FIFA and CAF been very visible to force through their biases and preferences than in Group C of the continent’s qualifying play for next year’s three-nation World Cup fiesta. A focus on Group C of the FIFA/CAF Africa WCQ is therefore very revealing.

 

The strategy appears to have surreptitiously adopted a plan to promote South Africa’s World Cup qualification interests. In the scheme, FIFA mysteriously lumped Bafana, with Benin, Nigeria, Lesotho (which is also founded inside South African), Zimbabwe, and Rwanda. This is the precarious FIFA/CAF African World Cup Qualification class, with the designation of Group C for you.

 

Even at its conception, the group’s composition of teams, should have drawn suspicion to keen observations, with immediate condemnation. That this obvious and deliberate unfairness was lost to most, is indeed telling.

 

But as the African WCQ games progressed, the obvious anomalies and unfairness in the composition of the group slowly began to unravel  for keener observers.

 

Today, it is now clear that the new CAF policy to speed up standard stadium construction and renovations in the continent, have been skillfully skewed by CAF with the help of FIFA, to benefit SAFA’s World Cup Qualification ambitions, above all else.

 

Under the disguise of using its policy to promote stadium constructions and renovations all over the continent, (note, also that the draconian plan is yet to yield the proposed dividend over four years on), Benin, Lesotho (a landlocked nation inside South Africa itself, for that matter), and Zimbabwe, were all adjudicated by CAF Stadium inspectors to be bereft of a single standard stadium within their borders.

 

That arrangement set the stage for the greatest manipulation of the outcome of groups known in the history of FIFA WCQ.

 

Banishment

 

 

The hash reality of CAF’s ongoing plan of international embarrassment and banishment to neighboring nations to play home games for perceived infringement of the mundane policy to ensure fast, paced stadium construction and renovation in the continent is not ubiquitous.

 

Thus, CAF’s strange policy rules out the notion of populism for a quirky working principle that atypically mandates affected national federations found wanting, are automatically stripped of their rights to legally host their games in their own countries.

 

As if that humiliation is not enough, the crass policy that is also non-appealable, is then followed by preprogrammed banishment to other countries to host home games. That such an obnoxious design enjoys FIFA imprimatur, is equally startling.

 

Thus, while Benin was compelled to move their base in the Group C qualifiers to Cote d’Ivoire, the rest of the affected nations in that group, were surprisingly allowed by FIFA and CAF to relocate their home venues to South Africa, an opponent in the same FIFA, CAF Africa WCQ Group C.

 

Though the likely reason for Zimbabwe and Lesotho for doing so might be for the sake of the simplicity of proximity, but global consternation for such a bizarre choice also grew exponentially when both CAF and FIFA gave their blessing to the unfair switch of venues by these two southern African countries to South Africa Republic.

 

The obvious fact that in such an arrangement neither CAF nor FIFA seemed to have not foreseen the disadvantage in the choice of venue to other federations in the group with the same ambition as South Africa to go to the World Cup, is perplexing.

 

Fifa seemed to have forgotten that nations like Benin, Rwanda, and Nigeria, are also competing with South Africa in Group C for the same qualification ticket, even if South African countries like Zimbabwe and Lesotho feel they are merely in the group to make up the numbers.

 

However, Nigeria’s former boss, Jose Paseiro did bring the attention of the world to these obvious implications. Paseiro was the first known person to openly complain against the egregious decision by CAF and FIFA to okay Lesotho and Zimbabwe to play their home games in the WCQ inside South Africa.

 

Paseiro also protested against the Group C schedule, which unfairly gave SAFA huge advantage over other Federations. The scheduled allowed Bafana to play almost all their matches after others in the group had concluded theirs during the various rounds. Still, Paseiro’s complaints fell on deaf ears.

 

Notably, elsewhere in Group E, Zambia, a nation within the same Southern zone of the continent, was green lighted by CAF for the Chipolopolo (Copper Bullets) to host their 2026 WCQ games at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium, in Ndola.

 

While in Group D, Angola’s national team, Palancas Negras (Black Sable antelopes) was allowed to host their 2026 WCQ at Estádio 11 de Novembro in Luanda, Angola. If CAF and FIFA feel the sporting structures in Zambia and Angola are in good shape to host international games, why not move the games of Lesotho and Zimbabwe there to promote fairness?

 

Especially, when Zambia and Angola are also in the same region in Africa as Zimbabwe and Lesotho, should that be so difficult for CAF and FIFA to effect, if truly “Fair play” is the ultimate mantra for CAF and FIFA?

 

In the interest of fair play, conventional wisdom would demand that FIFA and CAF compel Zimbabwe and Lesotho to move their home games to neighboring Zambia or Angola, instead of allowing The Warriors and Likuena (Crocodiles) to go ahead and play crucial WCQ games in South Africa who are in the same group with them.

 

This arrangement would still preserve the demand of proximity for both federations while enshrining the highly important sporting principle of fair play.

 

Here is another irony, Eswatini and Angola play in Group D. Eswatini was forced by CAF to play their WCQ at the Mbombela Stadium in neighboring Nelspruit, South Africa, because their local stadiums did not merit CAF approval.

 

However, as of September 2025, the Somhlolo National Stadium in Lobamba, Eswatini, has been re-approved, giving Eswatini the right to host their remaining 2026 WCQ home games inside the country. This is the right thing to do. Eswatini should not be allowed to play their games in any of the countries competing with Sihlangu Semnikati (King’s Shield) in the same group.

 

Shroud of hypocrisy unveiled

 

Given the above scenarios, CAF’s system purporting to push the building and renovation of stadiums all over Africa, is only a smokescreen to pick on lesser nations with obvious fiscal instability, and force them to host their home games abroad, thereby denying them the advantage of familiarity. 

 

If this unfair policy is not being used as excuse to favor certain teams within the confederation, how come, on Tuesday, September 9, the same CAF, in connivance of FIFA, okayed South Africa’s decision to host their crucial WCQ against Nigeria at the crumbling structures of the Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein?

 

If CAF and FIFA truly abide by their own principles, the proper decision was for the football governing bodies to demand that SAFA move that particular game to a suitable arena, even if within South Africa. That they didn’t do so, completely removed the veil over their dark motives.

 

Also known as the Free State Stadium, the venue of the now contentious event accommodates 46,000 spectators. However, its playing turf serves the purpose of hosting routine Rugby games. But, the rugged arena is also occasionally used to host local football matches including the PSL of South Africa.

 

Even at that, the structures of the Bloemfontein Stadium is without question, in severe dilapidation. While its playing surface is a grave yard for footballing injuries to occur, CAF and FIFA still saw fit to okay it to host such a major WCQ involving South Africa and Nigeria on such a gruesome arena, notwithstanding the huge impact of the game.

 

This begs the question of the relevance of CAF’s policy against the use of substandard venues for international games if the body and FIFA can give the go ahead for the appaling stadium to host the crucial game between Bafana and Super Eagles there.

 

 

Even South Africa’s coach Hugo Broos, publicly decried the poor state of the turf at the Toyota arena ahead of the critical encounter with Nigeria there.

 

Despite the obvious fact that last Tuesday’s clash in Bloemfontein between Bafana and Super Eagles had the potential to determine the eventual winner of Group C if South Africa had come out victorious, CAF and FIFA still allowed the game to go ahead there as planned.

 

As usual, FIFA and CAF turned deaf ears on Broos’ lamentations. So, too did the protests of Nigerian players who, before their clash with South Africa in Bloemfontein, questioned the rationale for playing such a big game on the appaling surface, go unheeded.

 

Major travesty

 

At the time of last week’s game in Bloemfontein, virtually all of South Africa’s stadiums were in a dire state of disrepair. The country used to boast of world famous stadiums with lush playing surfaces such as, FNB Stadium (94,736 capacity) in Johannesburg, Ellis Park Stadium (62,567) in Johannesburg, Odi Stadium (60,000) in Mabopane, and Mmabatho Stadium (60,000) in Mahikeng. Today, they are all shadows of their relative past.

 

Presently, there is a concerted effort to renovate the stadiums of South Africa, meaning that even the stadiums of the Southern African country should also be forced to host their own home game abroad, since even South Africa’s local authority feel the nation’s stadiums are in bad shape.

 

Yet, FIFA and CAF are twisting the arms of smaller nations, like Eswatini, Zimbabwe, and Lesotho, to host their games on these obviously bad playing turfs. What a travesty.

 

 

It is therefore a transgression for CAF to allow South Africa to host home games within their borders, and a shame for FIFA to support such an unfair decision, when others with similar problems are being openly punished and shamed.

 

Importantly, the sanctioning of last Tuesday’s game in Bloemfontein’s rustic stadium, when lesser African nations with similar problems are being bullied into taking their WCQ games abroad, is a major travesty that should be condemned. The practice is unfair and a gross abuse of authority by both FIFA and CAF.

 

It is also lamentable that a nation like South Africa, which hosted the FIFA World Cup in 2010, (which was only fifteen years ago), has a difficulty with providing even a decent stadium within its borders before today. But for FIFA to treat the rustic arenas in Bloemfontein, South Africa, as if they represent the best that can be found in the continent, is very misleading and insulting.

 

There are standard playing surfaces all over Africa today, including the newly renovated FNB Stadium in South Africa, which began hosting major events again in September 2025, following completion of its renovations.

 

So, if the option of a better suited stadium within South Africa to host major international could not be found in the country before last Tuesday’s game in Bloemfontein, this begs the question of FIFA and CAF not moving Tuesday’s crucial game between South Africa and Nigeria to the more safer FNB Stadium, or outside South Africa.

 

Also, should the defence be that just the stadium was available at the time of Tuesday’s game, SAFA should equally be compelled by CAF and FIFA to take their home games abroad like other smaller nations are being forced to do by both governing bodies.

 

However, this is not even the case. FIFA and CAF have decided to turn the other eye on an obvious infringement of their own mode by SAFA. The FNB stadium in Nelspruit, South Africa, was available to host Tuesday’s game and both FIFA and SAFA knew that, but chose for reasons best known to them, to allow the crucial game to go on at the graveyard at the Bloemfontein stadium.

 

 

With that said, let us delve into the actual reason for taking Tuesday’s game between South Africa and Nigeria with its huge implication, to the Free State Stadium in South Africa. The obvious rationale is to deprive Super Eagles players the opportunity of playing Bafana on a good turf.

 

This decision to allow the game in Bloemfontein however begs the question that, if SAFA can enjoy the right to use the advantage of familiarity of its arena with the use of such a dilapidated structure and its pot holed turf to fortify its home advantage against Nigeria, so should others in the continent be allowed to play all their games at home.

 

The sole purpose for SAFA hosting Nigeria in Bloemfontein was to make the experience of playing against local South African players who were already used to playing on such a bad surface in the PSL, very arduous for the visitors. It is not lost anybody that Super Eagles players who ply their trade weekly on good, and famous turfs all over Europe, will find it very herculean to acclimatize quickly to such a hideous playing turf.

 

Also, a game between Bafana and Nigeria say, at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg, would bring to fore the best from both teams and showcase the utmost performance from two of Africa’s best national teams. However, it is not against conventional expectation of the outcome of such a huge clash, that allowing the game to hold at the newly refurbished playing surface of the FNB between the two nations, would leave the South African national side greatly disadvantaged against Nigeria even on home soil, leaving poor Bafana ready for taking to the cleaners by the Super Eagles before South Africans.

 

Again, knowing that Bafana, whose majority of players play in the PSL weekly, and were already used to playing their league games on the notorious Bloemfontein arena, was advantageous to Bafana, for CAF to allow the event to take place in Bloemfontein for that same reason, is a major travesty. The consideration of such an undue advantage to Bafana, is eneough for the two football governing bodies to have a rethink of their decision, going by CAF’s current policy which openly forbids lesser African nations the luxury of same advantage over their bigger opponents.

 

However, Bafana was allowed by CAF and FIFA to enjoy days of uninterrupted preparations weeks ahead of the clash going by the fixtures. Bafana was afforded the luxury of extensive practice sessions at the same arena ahead of games against Lesotho and Nigeria weeks before their encounters with them at the Bloemfontein Stadium.

 

As well as having faced the Likuena of Lesotho there days earlier in Bloemfontein, (a team that were sadly forced by CAF to play their home games at a substandard stadium because Likuena’s turf was adjudged by the same body to be below standard for hosting international games, this is glaringly a biased decision, and is intended to give South Africa undue advantage against all teams in Group C.

 

Thus, these were obviously calculated intentions by SAFA, CAF, and FIFA, to hand a huge advantage to Bafana at all cost. The point remains that while Bafana can enjoy such an advantage, Benin, Lesotho, and Zimbabwe, should also be allowed by FIFA and CAF to the same right.

 

All African federations should be allowed by CAF and FIFA to also play all their home games under the confine of their nations, notwithstanding the state of their stadiums as currently applies South Africa. It is unfair to deny others a particular right while jocularly allowing another participant the same privilege. What’s good for the geese should be equally dandy for the gander.

 

Wary epitaph

 

 

Bafana truly enjoyed that right against Nigeria. That they didn’t win the match in Bloemfontein was shocking, and this attests to their true caliber or worth. This is because the South players were truly well prepared to take on the best teams of the planet on their famous slaughter ground and easily come out with a win. That they failed to defeat Nigeria in that ill fated game shows that they are not good enough to fly Africa’s flag at the World Cup tournament next year. However, this is the same team that FIFA and CAF appears to be hell bent to help them force their way through to Mexico, Canada, and USA next year.

 

Also, the famous statement by FIFA before the ill fated match over the state of the Group C standings begins to make much sense to ardent observers. The statement appeared to be a sinister celebration of FIFA’s expectations of the outcome of its crooked intentions to force down their poisonous broth down the throats of Africans, ahead of time. It was apparent that Zurich had already written the epitaph for other teams in Group C, like Benin, Rwanda, and Nigeria, who still had decent chance of qualification given a fair leverage by FIFA. The statement form FIFA ahead of South Africa vs. Nigeria in Bloemfontein leaves a bad taste in the mouth. This is very ugly of FIFA and a shame and Zurich should cover their face in ignominy.

 

According to MSN: “Hours before the kick-off of the match involving South Africa and Nigeria at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein on Tuesday, September 9, FIFA, via its official X handle, posted that Bafana Bafana could pick the ticket to the World Cup.

“Two more teams could secure @fifaworldcup26 qualification today.

“Egypt 🇪🇬 will qualify if they beat Burkina Faso, while South Africa will qualify if they beat Nigeria, and Benin fail to beat Lesotho.”

Note also that this statement was made by FIFA pending the outcome of their purported ongoing investigation over Bafana’s fielding of suspended midfielder Teboho Mokoena against Likuena on Match 25. SAFA has publicly admitted to wrong doing in the saga, but FIFA’s hands appears to be tied by unseen ghosts perhaps, in taking a just decision over the issue.

 

 

Still, we must not take away the irony of CAF and FIFA allowing a game of the magnitude between Bafana and Super Eagles to be played in Bloemfontein last week. The trenchancy? Lesotho, who were compelled by CAF to play their home games in a neutral venue, has already been humiliated by the same Confederation in cahoot with FIFA to host their penultimate game in the 2026 WCQ series, in this case, against Bafana, on one of the World’s worst stadium and turf, and with FIFA standing with arms akimbo to make certain it happened. This is an irony.

 

For allowing itself to be a major pawn in South Africa and CAF’s open favoritism for Bafana’s WCQ goals, FIFA’s fervent call for fairness in its games has now been forever impugned. There is this apparition of a clandestine business going on between CAF and FIFA in African football, and whatever its outcome is going to be, it is certain to be a shame.

 

It’s pertinent to call out CAF and point out FIFA’s complicity in such gross hypocrisy because this can only be allowed to go so far. If condoned, this despicable assault on African football would cause lasting damage to international games in the continent. In that, CAF and FIFA continue to foment their nefarious intentions of bias at the chagrin of the safety concerns of even South African fans by signing off for Bafana to host such a huge game against the Super Eagles under the appaling and crumbling structure of the Bloemfontein Stadium before such a huge crowd, is bad judgment.

 

Also, that Nigeria, Nottingham Forest, and Beşiktaş have collectively lost the services of their players in Ola Aina and Wilfred Ndidi-to horrific injuries in that game is lamentable. By forcing players worth millions of British Pound Sterling to their club sides to play on such a poor turf at the peril of the careers is strange practice by FIFA and CAF. To force any player onto such a horrendous turf is equally a travesty.