Burkina Faso’s friendly against Argentina is under threat after the Stallions’ delegation became stranded in Morocco less than 24 hours before the scheduled kick-off.
The two sides are due to meet at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires on Saturday night/Sunday morning at midnight GMT, but Burkina Faso had yet to leave Morocco at the time of the federation’s statement.
The logistical problems follow the cancellation of a charter flight that had been scheduled to transport the national team on Wednesday, leaving officials with limited time to find an alternative route to Argentina.
The Burkina Faso Football Federation (FBF) said the original flight was cancelled without prior notice by the charter company.
“The national A team’s travel was disrupted following the cancellation, without prior notice, by the aircraft charter company, of the flight initially scheduled for September 30th. This cancellation necessitated a reorganization of the delegation’s travel program.”
The cancellation has created uncertainty over whether the Stallions will be able to reach Buenos Aires in time for their highly anticipated meeting with Argentina.
Burkina Faso had already been on the road for their opening two matches in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign.
They drew 1-1 with Benin in Ouagadougou on 25 September before suffering a 1-0 defeat by the Central African Republic in Casablanca on 28 September.
The team remained in Morocco following those fixtures, but the cancelled flight has now disrupted plans for the delegation to travel to Argentina.
According to the FBF, a number of alternatives were considered after the original arrangement collapsed.
However, concerns over the length of the journey prevented an agreement being reached on a proposed alternative plan involving the players.
The situation brought together Sports Minister Annick Pikbougoum Zingué, FBF president Oumarou Sawadogo and Burkina Faso’s ambassador to Morocco Mamadou Coulibaly as officials attempted to find a solution.
The federation said the three parties have been working to resolve the situation and get the delegation to Buenos Aires as quickly as possible.
“Since the incident, the Ministry of Sports, the federation, and the embassy have been working together to find a solution as quickly as possible to allow the delegation to continue its journey to Buenos Aires. Various options were explored to reorganize a new departure, but constraints related to travel time, in particular, raised concerns among the players.”
The officials remain committed to finding a way forward and ensuring Burkina Faso can take part in the international friendly.
The federation said its leadership “are personally committed to finding a solution to unblock the situation in order to reach Buenos Aires as soon as possible and to preserve the Stallions’ participation in this international meeting.”
However, with the scheduled kick-off rapidly approaching, the uncertainty surrounding the team’s travel continues to raise questions over whether the match can go ahead as planned.
