‘I was very happy, especially to play at home in front of such a full stadium like the one in the Free State. What we knew as a team was that it was going to be full,” he said.
Mothobi Mvala hopes more Bafana Bafana matches will be played in the Free State province after beating Zimbabwe in a 2026 World Cup qualifier earlier this month. The Free State Stadium was packed as supporters cheered Bafana to a 3-1 win over The Warriors.
READ ALSO: The Stellies foursome are part of the Bafana Cosafa Cup squad
Despite Bafana’s rise under Belgian coach Hugo Broos, they have struggled to attract fans to the stadium, especially in Gauteng. It was a pleasant homecoming for Mvala and Teboho Mokoena, from the province.
With Bloemfontein Celtic no longer playing in the DStv Premiership, that side’s audience has been starved of top-flight football. The Mamelodi Sundowns defender is encouraged by the warm reception they received as they bid to qualify for the world football spectacle being held in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
“I was very happy, especially to play at home in front of a full stadium like the one in the Free State. What we knew as a team was that it was going to be busy and they were going to push us from the first minute to the 90th minute and we didn’t want to let them down,” he said.
‘People there love football’
“We wanted to leave the stadium with three points and put a smile on their faces and also give them something to be proud of. I hope we have done that because we know there is no team in Bloemfontein.
“The people there love football and we did our best and personally I think I played well and we helped the team win. The support has been great and I hope we will have more matches in Bloemfontein.”
READ ALSO: Argentina starts Copa title defense with 2-0 win over Canada
Mvala comes from a small town of Theunissen in the Free State, an hour’s drive from Bloemfontein. Bafana are now second behind Group C leaders Rwanda after four rounds of qualifiers. The road to the World Cup is in the background for the time being, with the next qualifying match against Lesotho not being played until March next year.
The Citizen
www.citizen.co.za