Earlier last month, there were fears the Zebras might be forced to play their Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier against Equatorial Guinea on March 28 outside the country.
That was after CAF condemned the Obed Itani Chilume Stadium as unfit to host Category Three and Four matches. AFCON qualifiers fall under category three of CAF match standards. CAF ordered that remedial works should be carried out at the facility if the Zebras were to play the Equatorial Guinea clash at the stadium.
The Botswana National Sports Commission (BNSC) immediately started the remedial works and Mmegi Sport has established that the continental soccer body has given the association the go-ahead to use the facility.
The BFA president Maclean Letshwiti referred all inquiries relating to the readiness of the stadium to the BNSC CEO Tuelo Serufho. Sources said CAF wrote a letter directly to the BFA sanctioning the use of the stadium for the Equatorial Guinea match.
Serufho said the Zebras will play at home although he said the BNSC is yet to get official communication from CAF. “We have not received any official communication from CAF but what I can confirm is that we have completed the refurbishments that were requested by CAF to ready the stadium for category three matches. If at all there is any correspondence from CAF it is yet to reach us,” he explained. Sources told Mmegi Sport that CAF had instructed the BFA to close the facility soon after the AFCON qualifiers for further upgrades in order to ensure the facility hosts category four matches.
However, Serufho said the facility does not have to be closed. “The stadium will remain in use. However, we will soon start working on upgrades that would enable the facility to be category four-compliant.
The idea is that the facility should be of high standards when the bid for the 2027 AFCON takes shape,” he said. Late last month, Letshwiti said the association is working in collaboration with the BNSC to ensure that the stadium is ready to host Category Three matches. The Zebras would have been forced to play the Equatorial Guinea clash in South Africa if the Obed Itani Chilume Stadium was not upgraded.
