Peter Mokaba Stadium to host Bafana Bafana 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifier clash against Lesotho as Polokwane Municipality eye Nedbank Cup final - 'We are discussing with PSL about it'

Bafana Bafana will host their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier match against Lesotho at Peter Mokaba Stadium on March 17, 2025.

Hugo Broos and his team are scheduled to face Lesotho and Benin during the upcoming Fifa international break in March. 

The executive mayor of Polokwane Municipality, John Mpe, has confirmed that Bafana's first game of 2025 against Lesotho will take place in Limpopo.

"Well, regarding the Bafana Bafana game, we have already received confirmation from Safa that we will host an international match between Bafana Bafana and Lesotho. It’s a World Cup qualifier," Mpe said according to FARPost.

"So, it’s confirmed that the New Peter Mokaba Stadium will be ready by that time. We are busy ensuring that in the next few weeks, we will make some announcements about the progress made at the stadium.

"In fact, they have requested me to go and see that the grass has started growing and that everything is going according to plan. It will be ready for the international games," he added. 

"We are also in discussions with Safa to host a friendly game, particularly between South Africa and Cameroon, that they are planning. If everything goes well, we will be very happy to host Bafana more." 

The Polokwane mayor has also indicated that the Municipality is considering hosting the 2025 Nedbank Cup final. 

"The finals, we are discussing with the PSL about the finals of the Nedbank Cup. We will make an announcement very soon because we believe that we have demonstrated our abilities, capacity, and love for the beautiful game as the Polokwane Municipality," He said. 

"We are looking forward to finalising this with them, and we will take it from there. I think the people of Polokwane and Limpopo as a whole have been supportive, and we thank them. I believe they deserve a cup final in their own city.

"So, we are also planning to host other games if we are able to host the Springboks on the rugby side." 

Bafana last played at the 2010 Fifa World Cup venue in 2016 against Senegal, in what was a 2018 Fifa World Cup qualifying match under coach Shakes Mashaba.

The 1996 Africa Cup of Nations champions are performing well in Group C, where they currently sit in second place with seven points after four games, tied on points with group leaders Rwanda.

Additionally, other teams competing alongside Bafana in Group C include Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, and Benin.

The Polokwane Municipality and Safa are anticipated to officially announce the venue for the Bafana vs. Lesotho match, although Mpe has already revealed it.

Conversely, the 2025 Nedbank Cup campaign is still progressing to the Round of 16. After the semi-finals, the PSL will announce the date and venue of the final.