Johannesburg – Safa are sticking to their guns and will not allow Ghana to play dirty tricks ahead of the two countries’ important 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier, which South Africa is supposed to host next month.
Reports coming from the west African country are that Ghana want the match to be played in a neutral venue due to the new, deadly Covid-19 variant that has swept Mzansi.
“I have heard about those reports, but we have not received anything from CAF [Confederation of African Football]. Maybe it’s fake news but I am not sure, so I cannot call it that.
“As far as we know, the game is going ahead at FNB Stadium and kick-off will be 6pm,” according to Safa CEO Tebogo Motlanthe.
Safa cannot afford to forfeit their home ground, and with the Covid-19 positive numbers going down drastically, they will have a strong case in arguing and justifying that the match be staged locally.
The result s of this much-awaited clash will play a significant role as to who qualifies for the next Afcon to be staged in Cameroon in January.
“Due to the spike in the Covid-19 cases in South Africa, the Ghana Football Association is requesting the match to be played in a dierent country. The Ghana FA sent the letter to Africa’s football governing body last week and is awaiting a response,” reads a statement purportedly released by the Black Stars’ football federation.
Bafana are joint Group C leaders with the Black Stars son nine points.
The Falcons are perched third with six points. Bafana need one point to guarantee their tickets to Cameroon but a loss to Ghana could open the back door for Sudan.
By Kgomotso Mokoena
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa. To Subscribe to Sunday World, click here.
Sunday World
