‘This is not honest’ – Broos fumes over Bafana training venue

Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos was left fuming yesterday as his side were not allowed to train at the match venue, ahead of their 2026 Fifa World Cup Group C qualifier against Benin at the Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium in Abidjan this evening. 

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This goes against the norm, where teams are usually allowed to train at the venue for at least an hour the day before a game. 

Ivory Coast take priority?

Neither Bafana or Benin were allowed to train at the match venue, because the Ivory Coast were playing Gambia at the same venue on Monday in their own 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifier. 

“I’m really not satisfied with the decision that we can’t have a pre-match training in the stadium where the game takes place,” said the Bafana head coach. 

“I think this is a FIFA rule, that every team has the right to have a preliminary training before the game of 60 minutes in the stadium where you play, where the match takes place. 

“I understand it because there is another game. But this is bad when people who make the rules don’t follow the rules. Will that have an influence on the game? I don’t know. 

Bafana’s Broos – ‘Benin has already trained in that stadium’

“But I know if tomorrow after the game I’m not at the press conference, there will be a sanction. So we have to follow the rules. (But) where are the rules now? And you will tell me, yes, that’s for both teams. I don’t think so. I think Benin has already trained in that stadium because they were here before us.

“So it’s all nice to say, follow the rules, follow this. We have to follow everything. But we have the right to train today in the stadium where the match takes place, and we can’t. This is not honest and this is not correct.”

Bafana captain – ‘It’s going to be a tough one’

Bafana goalkeeper and captain Ronwen Williams, meanwhile, expects a difficult game against Benin, but is confident his side can get the three points. 

Currently two points ahead of Benin in Group C, victory today would move Bafana into a fantastic position to qualify for the World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico next year. 

“It’s going to be a tough one. Benin is a very good team, but we believe in our qualities, we believe in what we’ve been building over the last year. So we’re looking forward to the game,” said Williams.

“It’s going to be a tough one, a lot of challenges, but I think this team is strong enough to overcome all those challenges,” he said.

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“We’re excited and we’re looking forward to it. We know how important and vital this game is for the group. We know that we can open up a gap and we know that a gap can be closed as well. So this is a big, big, big game in these qualifying rounds.”