The SA Under-20 (Amajita) coach Raymond Mdaka may have to just brace himself and start planning for life without Orlando Pirates muscular defender Mbekezeli Mbokazi and Kaizer Chiefs’ dribbling wizard Mfundo Vilakazi at the coming 2025 CAF Under-20 Afcon in Egypt later this month.
The biennial African international youth football tournament will be held in Egypt from April 27 to May 18.
The youth Afcon does not fall under the Fifa calendar and clubs are not obliged to release players for the tournament.
Mdaka has already lost the services of star player Shandre Campbell, who was barred from attending the tournament by his Belgium outfit Club Brugge.
Both Mbokazi and Vilakazi have established themselves at their clubs and there is also the matter of the Soweto derby on April 8. Mdaka may just start looking for replacements.
The coach has announced a squad of 21 players, while four are on standby. The four players on standby are Gabriel Ama-to, Thato Sibiya, Naledi Hlongwane and Thato Mpati.
“The list consists of the core of the team, the players we have had since the start of our preparations and through to Cosafa. We also have players we did not have in Mozambique; the likes of Mfundo Vilakazi, Asekho Tiwane, Langelihle Phili and Siviwe Nkwali. This list is minus Shandre Campbell, whose team (Club Brugge in Belgium) has cited issues of him being in the first team,” Mdaka told the Safa website.
The four semifinalists at the Under-20 Afcon will represent the continent at the 2025 Fifa Under-20 World Cup in Chile in September this year.
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