BELGIAN club Oostende has allowed South Africa international midfielder Andile Jali to fly home to attend the weekend funeral of national soccer team captain Senzo Meyiwa, who was shot dead on Sunday.

Jali will miss tomorrow's match between Oostende and struggling Waasland-Beveren after being given permission to attend the funeral of his former Orlando Pirates teammate.

"I understand that Andile wants to say goodbye.

"They grew up together and were not only team-mates in the South African national team but also at Orlando Pirates," coach Fred Vanderbiest told Voetbalkrant.nl yesterday.

Meyiwa's funeral has been moved from a stadium in his home township of Umlazi, on the outskirts of Durban, to the city's 54000-seater Moses Mabhida Stadium because of the large crowds that are expected to attend, the country's Premier Soccer League confirmed.

The South African Football Association moved their next Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Sudan from Mbombela to Meyiwa's home town of Durban.

Meyiwa captained South Africa in their first four Nations Cup qualifiers over the last two months without conceding a goal.