Zimbabwe has made a notable decision to move their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against South Africa to Kigali, Rwanda, shifting away from their previous arrangement of playing home fixtures in South Africa.
The fixture is now set to take place on October 5 in the Rwandan capital, where Zimbabwe will face their regional rivals, South Africa.
This change stems from an ongoing FIFA suspension that bars Zimbabwe from hosting international matches on home soil.
In response, the national team had been using South Africa as their adopted home venue.
Currently sitting at the bottom of Group C with five points, Zimbabwe faces a steep climb. South Africa leads the group with 13 points, while Rwanda and Benin Republic are both tied on eight points.
Nigeria follows closely with seven points, trailed by Lesotho and Zimbabwe with six and five points respectively.
South Africa’s upcoming schedule includes an away clash with Lesotho on September 1, a critical home tie against Nigeria on September 5, before wrapping up their campaign with games against Zimbabwe and Rwanda.
Only the group winner will automatically qualify for the 2026 World Cup. The runners-up with the best records across all groups will have a shot at the intercontinental play-offs through a separate qualification play-off round.
