Fifa have confirmed the venue for South Africa’s opening 2014 World Cup qualifier against Ethiopia on June 3 will be the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg.
Bafana Bafana will train at the Bafokeng Sports Campus in the lead-up to the game and play at the nearby 45 000-seater stadium, which was last week also announced as one of the five venues for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.
The Ethiopia match will be the first international since February’s tame draw with Senegal in Durban, the latest in a series of disappointing results for Pitso Mosimane’s team.
Bafana Bafana have played nine home matches since hosting the 2010 World Cup finals. Matches have been spread across seven venues nationwide – two at Nelspruit’s Mbombela Stadium and twice at Ellis Park in Johannesburg.
The other venues used since Mosimane became coach are Soccer City, the Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Cape Town Stadium, Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth and Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium.
After Ethiopia, Bafana will travel to Botswana for their second Group A qualifier the following weekend. (SuperSport.com)