Publications
Partners
WIN: Kaizer Chiefs vs Orlando Pirates tickets
The Stallions are replacing their fellow west Africans, Nigeria, who snubbed South Africa and opted for a friendly with Ghana.
SAFA vice president Mandla 'Shoes' Mazibuko tells Football365.co.za he believes Burkina Faso - ranked 37th in the world - will be tough opponents for our 47th-placed troops.
"I can confirm that we will play Burkina Faso," he said.
"The venue has not been confirmed and we expect to do that in the next 24 hours. Initially, we wanted to play in Port Elizabeth (at the Nelson Mandela Bay stadium), but at the request of Burkina Faso we will have to play the game in Gauteng.
"They say they have to fly out immediately after the game. We cannot afford to transport them from outside Gauteng to catch their flight on time.
"They must release their big-name players back to their respective clubs. They are bringing their strongest squad, because countries now have realised that to improve your FIFA rankings you don't just bring young boys.
"The coach and the technical team have already gone to the Orlando Stadium to inspect the field, but they were not happy with the condition of the pitch."
SAFA are hoping Bafana can take on Burkina Faso at Ellis Park, but are in two minds since news broke out of the deal that has gone sour between rugby's Golden Lions - the tenants of the field - and its BEE partners led by Robert Gumede.
"Our decision is subject to all this controversies and the association is monitoring that. We don't want to be drawn and dragged into this and we want to ascertain what is this Lions and the transformation agendas," Mazibuko concluded.
