Argentina’s friendly against Burkina Faso on Saturday is at risk after the visiting squad was unable to travel to Buenos Aires as planned and remained in Casablanca on Friday afternoon.
The Burkina Faso delegation had been expected to arrive in the Argentine capital on 30 September. However, it was still in Morocco at 15:00 on Friday, with no confirmed departure time, leaving uncertainty over whether the match will take place as scheduled.
The Burkina Faso Football Federation said the disruption was caused by the “unexpected cancellation by the airline of the flight originally scheduled”, forcing the delegation to revise its travel plans.
However, reports in Argentina, including by Ole, said the difficulties involved more than an isolated flight cancellation. The newspaper identified two central issues behind the delay.
The first was the squad’s opposition to travelling on a long commercial flight. The players reportedly did not want to repeat the experience of Benin’s national team and were instead insisting on a privately chartered aircraft, similar to the arrangement used by Mauritania in March.
The second issue was financial. Sources from Africa said the agreement with the company organising the fixture covered travel and accommodation, but did not include a payment for playing against the world champions.
The players are now seeking additional compensation before making the journey to Argentina.
The Burkina Faso government has become directly involved in efforts to resolve the dispute. The federation said Sports Minister Anniek Ouattara, its president Oumar Sawadogo and Burkina Faso’s ambassador to Morocco, Mamadou Coulibaly, were personally working to find a solution.
The Argentine Football Association is monitoring the situation closely. It expects Burkina Faso, ranked 62nd in the world, to arrive on Saturday afternoon and play the friendly at the planned time, provided the delegation can leave Casablanca on Friday night.
The match has therefore moved into a period of uncertainty, with the fixture dependent on both the travel arrangements and the unresolved financial discussions. The Burkina Faso federation has not confirmed when the squad will depart Morocco.
