Malawi, Zimbabwe, and Namibia are among the eleven nations without a stadium that has been approved by CAF. As a result, these nations will host their home games in a different country in the 2024–25 season.
Other countries without a CAF-approved stadium include Sudan, South Sudan, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sao Tome, Niger, Namibia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central Africa, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Kenya and Lesotho.
Zambia’s two stadiums, the Levy Mwanawasa and Heroes National Stadium have both been approved to host the CAF Champions League and Confederations Cup matches.
According to a statement from CAF, the upcoming CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup preliminary round matches, which are slated for next month, will be the first fixtures to be played in the approvedstadiums.
“This list is specific for the first and second preliminary round of the CAF inter-club 2024/25,” the statement reads in part
“The final list of approved stadiums for the indicated match days may be updated, subject to the CAF stadium inspection procedure in place.”
Malawi’s Nyasa Big Bullets to be affected
In the case of Malawi, the suspension is the result of the sports ministry’s failure to renovate some portions of Bingu National Stadium, as noted by CAF when it issued them a temporary permit to hold international matches last year.
The stadium was the home to Kenya and Ethiopia in the World Cup qualifier.
Some of the areas that needed to be worked on included the substandard seats for the technical bench and security perimeter fence.
Malawi’s giant FCB Nyasa Big Bullets were expected to host Red Arrows of Zambia in the CAF preliminary round between 16 and 25 August in Malawi before a return match taking place in Zambia.
In this case, Bullets has to look for other countries to host Arrows.
Bullets’ acting chief executive officer Albert Chigoga says they have received a communication from Malawi’s FA and they will have a conversation with them before mapping the way forward.
