Safa plans to utilise the remaining Fifa calendar dates after Bafana Bafana’s World Cup qualifier away to Botswana next by month playing a friendly match against a West African country. 

KickOff.com has been informed that although the match is yet to be sealed, the targeted opposition is Gabon, with the game set to be played there. Gabon were 2012 Africa Nations Cup co-hosts and reached the quarter-finals of the tournament.

Bafana will open up their 2014 World Cup qualifiers on June 3 against Ethiopia in Rustenburg before the short trip to Botswana for another qualifier five days later.

With the Fifa calendar dates remaining open after the Botswana game, Safa also plan to take steps to keep the team active.

“Yes, we have a home friendly match proposed for that date but we are yet to confirm the opposition. Yes it might be what you are saying (Gabon) and it might not be,” says Safa CEO Robin Petersen.

Bafana – wallowing in a lowly position in the Fifa rankings – last played a match in February against Senegal and are faced with having to play more friendly matches because they will not have any qualifiers to play as 2013 Africa Nations Cup hosts.

Countries that failed to qualify for the 2012 Afcon finals will play in the second round of qualifiers for next year’s tournament over the weekend of June 15-17.

Due to automatic qualification, Bafana have avoided a possible top-ranked nation in the qualifying draw for 2013 since they sit bottom of the general standings of the countries that have participated in the last three editions of the finals, which is the criteria used by CAF to determine the teams for Pot 1 and 2 of the draw.