Big Concerns Over Bafana’s Opening WC Venue

There is growing concern over the venue for South Africa's opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup against Mexico.

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South Africa will meet Mexico in a repeat of the 2010 FIFA World Cup opening game at the iconic Estadio Azteca.

The stadium was the first in football history to host two World Cup finals - 1970 and 1986 - and is the ground where both Pelé and Diego Maradona lifted the World Cup trophy.

When the opening game kicks off, it will become the first stadium to host a World Cup match at three different tournaments.

According to The Sun, there are increasingly growing fears that the stadium is sinking, while parts of the concrete inside the stadium were also seen breaking apart.

With less than a month to go until the tournament kicks off, fan footage from inside the stadium during a clash between Club America and Pumas UNAM showed a fan lifting a piece of concrete from the ground.

Concerns are heightened, particularly after the stadium had already undergone renovations to ensure it was ready for the tournament, including the changing rooms, hospitality areas, and facade.

While stadium dilapidation is a new concern, a sinkhole also appeared near the stadium in early March, where a Coca-Cola truck, one of the World Cup sponsors, got stuck, prompting a FIFA representative to inspect the stadium.

With the stadium located in Mexico City, one of the fastest-sinking cities in the world, concerns over the stadium mean NASA have been deployed to keep an eye on the city and the stadium using satellites that can detect any movements in the Earth's surface.

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It is unclear what the cause was for the stadium's decay, with no statement from the authorities, but they are in a race against time to ensure the stadium is ready for the global event.