Erasmus Shalihaxwe
Namibia’s national football team, the Brave Warriors, is expected to play South Africa’s Bafana Bafana in a FIFA international friendly match scheduled for 10 June 2025.
According to a report by South African publication The Star, the South African Football Association (SAFA) has lined up two friendly matches for Bafana Bafana in preparation for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
South Africa is scheduled to face Tanzania on 6 June, followed by Namibia four days later.
The fixtures are seen as important warm-up matches for both countries as they gear up for the next round of World Cup qualifying later this year.
When contacted, SAFA spokesperson Mninawa Ntloko told The Star that no official announcement had been made yet.
Similarly, the Namibia Football Association’s (NFA) director of communication, Isack Hamata, said he could neither confirm nor deny the fixture.
However, a source within the NFA confirmed that talks are ongoing and progressing positively.
Namibia and South Africa have a long-standing football rivalry, with their most recent encounter taking place at the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast, where South Africa won 4-0 during the group stage.
In the qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Namibia is currently in second place on the log in Group H with 12 points, trailing group leaders Tunisia, who have 16 points.
South Africa leads their group with 13 points, ahead of Rwanda by eight.
