JOHANNESBURG – Bafana Bafana will play Paraguay in the Nelson Mandela Challenge Centenary celebrations at Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban on Tuesday, November 20.
The match will kick off at 7pm, and comes three days after South Africa’s Africa Cup of Nations match against Nigeria at FNB Stadium on Saturday.
SA Football Association president Danny Jordaan, who made the announcement in Johannesburg on Monday, said they could not have come up with a better opposition to mark 100 years of South Africa’s icon and father of the nation, Nelson Mandela.
“We urge football fans to come in their thousands to pay homage to this South African and global icon whose love for children is well-documented,” said Jordaan.
“The match between Bafana Bafana and Paraguay is a fitting tribute to this giant who would have been 100 years old this year.”
Jordaan said Safa will donate R1.5 million towards the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund.
Bafana and Paraguay have clashed on three occasions to date. Their first meeting was in 2002 in Busan, South Korea during the 2002 World Cup which was co-hosted by Japan and Korea. The match finished 2-2.
The two sides met again in 2008 in Attridgeville’s Lucas Moripe Stadium where Bafana Bafana beat Paraguay 3-0. The two sides’ last clash was in 2010 in the Paraguay’s capital of Asuncion. The match ended in a 1-1 draw.
Bafana Bafana played their first Nelson Mandela Challenge match against Zambia in May 1994, which South Africa won 2-1.
Among other nations they have hosted, are Argentina, Brazil, Netherlands, Sweden, France, Egypt, Senegal, Nigeria and Cameroon.
The last edition to be played was in 2016 when South Africa defeated Egypt – the following year it was not played due to rescheduled 2018 Fifa World Cup qualifiers.
South Africa will play Paraguay in the 24th edition of the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund friendly match on Tuesday, 20 November 2018 at @MMStadium. Kickoff is 19h00 pic.twitter.com/4zi8SYMSdu
— Bafana Bafana (@BafanaBafana) November 12, 2018