Bafana Bafana travel woes continue with nightmare trip to Nigeria

Traversing the African continent is not for the faint-hearted and Bafana Bafana had one of their longest trips to Nigeria, spanning more than 30 hours until eventually arriving at their hotel on Thursday morning.

Bafana Bafana are in Nigeria for their third FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier.

Coach Hugo Broos’ charges arrived in Uyo, Nigeria, just after 11:00 local time on Thursday after the initial charter flight out of Johannesburg was delayed by four hours on Wednesday.

Bafana Bafana determined to tackle the task at hand

After eventually leaving OR Tambo International Airport, the team had to stay over in Port Harcourt, but despite the long hours of travel, they are  determined to tackle the task at hand.

“We are more focused than ever. Traveling in Africa is difficult, so that is not our focus. We are focused on the job at hand and that is the game against Nigeria,” said Broos at a press conference held at the Godswill Akpabio stadium.

Local media seemed more focused on the team’s injuries than the game itself, making sure they had as much information on every injury concern in the Bafana camp.

“We will see about Mudau, there is much talk about him and other injuries. Obviously, the (Nigeria) dangerman is Ademola Lookman, then there is Victor Osimhen, who is doubtful, but we are not focusing on that. We are focusing on our game, we have the ability and we have proven that at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Côte d’Ivoire,” laughed Broos.

Striker Percy Tau suggested that out of the group in Uyo, anyone that plays on Friday night has the resilience as well as the experience to rise to the occasion.

“We play in CAF, so we know what it’s like traveling and playing. It is never easy, but we are professionals, we are ready, and we are hungry to play. This is all that we are here for.”

The match is scheduled for 21:00 (SA time) at the Godswill Akpabio stadium.

Qualifying has changed

Bafana Bafana and Nigeria have been drawn in Group C along with Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Lesotho and Benin.

After two rounds of matches, Bafana Bafana lie in second place with three points having beaten Benin 2-1 at home and lost 2-0 to Rwanda in the Central African country.

Nigeria sit in third place after 1-1 draws against Zimbabwe and Lesotho.

The CAF qualification structure for the 2026 FIFA World Cup has changed from previous years.

A record nine teams will qualify for the 2026 World Cup – and a 10th is a possibility.

All 54 FIFA-affiliated football associations from CAF entered qualification.

Teams were drawn into nine groups of six teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches.

However, Eritrea withdrew before matches began, leaving five teams in Group E.

The winner of each of the nine groups will qualify for the World Cup.

In addition, the four best-ranked group runners-up will participate in a playoff to determine which team will advance to the inter-confederation play-offs.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be jointly hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States.