Bafana Bafana handed Cairo advantage in 2027 AFCON qualifying

Bafana Bafana will begin their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign with a home fixture before their first away match takes place in familiar surroundings, with Eritrea set to host South Africa in Cairo.

South Africa’s senior national team, coached by Pitso Mosimane, will open their Group D campaign against Guinea on 26 September. The match will be played at home and will be the first meeting between the two nations in an AFCON qualifying campaign.

Four days later, Bafana Bafana will travel to Egypt to face Eritrea. However, rather than playing in Eritrea’s capital, Asmara, South Africa will face the hosts in Cairo after the Eritrea National Football Federation confirmed it could not stage the fixture at home.

Neither the Cicero Stadium nor the Denden Stadium meets the requirements set by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). As a result, Eritrea must take the match to an approved venue outside the country.

The decision means South Africa will avoid the longer journey to Asmara and play in conditions that should be more familiar to Mosimane. The Bafana Bafana coach spent almost two years in charge of Egyptian club Al Ahly and knows Cairo well.

The fixture between South Africa and Eritrea will also be the first-ever meeting between the two countries.

Eritrea are among 10 nations that have never qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations. The list also includes South Africa’s neighbours Lesotho and Eswatini.

After the match against Eritrea, Bafana Bafana will remain in Cairo to play Egypt on 4 October. South Africa will therefore spend a full week in the Egyptian capital during the qualifying period, which falls within the forthcoming FIFA international window running from 21 September to 6 October.

The schedule gives Mosimane’s side an opportunity to settle in one location for the two matches in Egypt, rather than travelling between Cairo and Asmara. Their campaign will nevertheless begin with the home encounter against Guinea on 26 September before the side makes the short-notice adjustment to an away fixture staged on neutral ground.

The 2027 AFCON qualifiers will provide South Africa with their first competitive meetings against both Guinea and Eritrea, while the match against Egypt will give Bafana Bafana another assignment in Cairo during the same international period.