Johannesburg – Bafana Bafana coach Molefi Ntseki could find himself in a spot of bother and may be forced to make wholesome changes to the squad he named on Thursday.
Overseas clubs are deliberating whether to release players or exercise their right to hold onto players whose countries are on a red-list travel ban.
South Africa is one of those countries. South African Football Association (Safa) CEO Tebogo Motlanthe said they were being proactive and had written a letter to Brighton and Hove Albion, where Bafana star player Percy Tau is playing.
Brighton coach Graham Potter has dropped a hint that some of their players may not be allowed to join their national teams in this coming Fifa calendar week.
“We wrote to them and we will be engaging them further. We are just waiting for their response. We are anticipating what could be an unfavourable situation so that we can come up with another plan,” said Motlanthe.
The association is expecting a similar approach from other European clubs whose players were chosen for the Bafana squad to face Ghana at FNB Stadium on March 25. Four days later, Bafana will face Sudan in Khartoum.
This will seriously dent Ntseki’s preparations after he named nine players who are playing abroad. Ntseki may end up taking the local route due to the unfortunate circumstances.
According to the Argus in the UK, the current coronavirus guidelines for arrivals from red-list travel ban countries state “that individuals have to undertake 10 days of quarantine in a hotel”.
South Africa is one of those countries.
Uncharacteristically, Fifa has given clubs the option to prevent players who may be affected by the regulations from playing in their countries. Liverpool and other Premier League clubs will not allow players to travel to international matches this month if they have to quarantine for 10 days on their return.
“I think we are going to speak about it over the next few days and the upcoming week maybe, with a bit more clarity from Fifa or whoever else can give us that information, Potter was quoted in the media.
“We will take the decision as a club, which is right for the players and for us and what we can do. It seems sensible to me [that clubs should be able to decide] in terms of what we have just come out of and that type of movement, and then to have a 10-day quarantine doesn’t make a lot of sense. But like I said, we will speak about it next week and then we will know for sure,” said Potter.
Ntseki will be envious of Ghana who in their plans, and reading of the situation, excluded their overseas-based players and opted for local players who have been in camp for the last three weeks.
Reporting by Kgomotso Mokoena.
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