Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Themba “Mshishi” Zwane has been handed the captain’s armband following the unavailability of regular skipper Ronwen Williams due to injury.
Zwane will captain the Bafana Bafana team that will face Uganda and South Sudan in two 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers in the coming days.
The South Africans will host Uganda at the Orlando Stadium on Friday night and then travel up the continent for an away fixture against South Sudan on Tuesday.
Williams, the SA number one goalkeeper, has been out of action since turning out for Bafana against Zimbabwe on June 11 in the 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifier played at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein.
Shoulder injury
The 2023 Afcon goalkeeper of the tournament has been nursing a shoulder injury for quite some time and played no part in Masandawana’s pre-season camp in Austria.
But Zwane is more than capable of the job at hand, having captained Sundowns for many seasons and also Bafana on a temporary basis.
He is the eldest player in the team, and he commands respect from the young, up-and-coming players.
These players include Relebohile “Last Born” Mofokeng, Basadien Fawaaz, Rushwin Dortley, Jayden Adams, and Oswin Appolis, who look up to the experienced midfielder.
Bafana head coach Hugo Broos made the announcement to the team after dinner on Tuesday night.
The news coming from the SA camp is that the team has been hard at work since they assembled this week and that they are fired up to get their campaign off to a positive note.
Overseas-based players
Broos has his full complement of players in camp after Elias Mokwana arrived on Monday night, with Siyabonga Ngezana and Sphephelo “Yeye” Sithole joining the rest of the group on Tuesday morning.
Last week, Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi gave the media an update regarding Williams’ recovery.
“Ronwen is also very close. He is now with the physios and our biokinetics. It’s just a matter of time before he comes back for full training,” said Mngqithi at the time.
