Africa’s stadium dilemma: Being cruel in order to be kind
Mqondisi Dube | Monday September 22, 2025 06:00
National teams and clubs participating in CAF competitions have become regular refugees in neighbouring or even far-flung countries, in their quest to find a home away from home.
The development was triggered by CAF’s decision in 2019 that requires the use of only facilities approved by the continent’s football governing body.
Most countries were caught on the wrong side, with nearly 40 out of the 54 member associations forced to play their home games outside their borders at some point.
The situation has abated but remains dire, given the time since the decision was made.
“In 2021, there were 36 countries that were not playing football in their own countries.
The number has come down to 12, but for us, this is still a big number,” CAF president, Patrice Motsepe, said in March following his re-election for a second term. “At CAF and FIFA, it is our job to continue supporting the development of sports infrastructure,” he added.
Motsepe said at CAF, they want to see every team play at home, although there is an understanding that nations’ budgets face competing and pressing needs such as education and healthcare.
“We love football, but we have to ask: should we use the money to build a football stadium, or should we build a hospital, a clinic, or invest more in education?” he asked. “There is a love for football, but government support is not as strong as it could be. And it is not because governments don’t love football.” To address budget challenges, Motsepe urged partnership with the private sector to build stadiums in a continent where fund allocations for sport infrastructure remain low. Botswana, with one CAF-approved stadium, recently hosted its first ‘victim’, the Brave Warriors of Namibia, who have relocated from South Africa. Zimbabwe is following suit and will host South Africa at the Obed Itani Chilume Stadium next month.
Clubs from both Namibia and Zimbabwe will utilise the same facility for their CAF matches as homelessness continues to hound African nations.
Namibia and Zimbabwe join what is still a long list of countries that do not have a CAF-approved facility.
Sudan, Benin, Gambia, Niger and Madagascar, the Central African Republic, Djibouti, Eritrea, Guinea Conakry, Lesotho, Namibia, Sao Tome, Seychelles, Sierra Leone and Somalia are still struggling to meet CAF-stadium requirements.
CAF is determined to push countries to build quality facilities in order to whittle down the list of countries without stadiums that meet the required standards.
“For us, it is 12 too many. You cannot develop football in any country in Africa if the national teams and clubs do not play in front of their supporters.”
While teams are inconvenienced through flying to alternative home venues across borders, in the process denying their fans a chance to cheer their side on home soil, Motsepe’s administration has emphasised the need for quality stadiums within the continent.
CAF has not been lenient with member countries that have below-par facilities, a move that Motsepe has repeatedly said is meant to improve the quality of football infrastructure within the continent. On the flip side, countries like South Africa that have multiple approved stadiums are reaping the benefits. South Africa has already hosted Eswatini, Malawi, Namibia, and Zimbabwe, and all the countries pay a fee to use the facilities.
Botswana will also get financial rewards as Namibia and Zimbabwe make the Obed Itani Chilume Stadium their new home. CAF began implementing and enforcing formal stadium certification standards in 2019, with a new safety and security department established for this purpose.
Since then, numerous stadium inspections have been conducted to enforce compliance with these regulations.
While Botswana has one approved facility, there is still the headache of teams like Gaborone United (GU) and Jwaneng Galaxy travelling more than 400km to host away teams in CAF competitions.
The other two facilities, the National Stadium and the Lobatse Sports Complex, have repeatedly failed CAF inspections. This weekend, GU kick-start their Champions League campaign against Tanzania’s Simba SC away from Gaborone, as they play at the Obed Itani Chilume Stadium.