Ntuthuko Maphumulo
The under-23 South African squad will be taking part in a four- nations tournament in Angola from August 25 to 28. The squad will be coached by Shakes Mashaba, who did well with the previous Amaglug-glug squad that went to the Olympics last year.
Mashaba now has many of the previous national under-20 team members at his disposal, but he cannot call up most of the players who won the Council of Southern Africa Football Association (Cosafa) Cup last year as they are taking part in club matches.
The four-nations knockout tournament pits South Africa against Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Angola. The winners of the two groups will advance to the finals and the losers will play off for the third and fourth place.
South African Football Association chief executive officer Danny Jordaan said: “The tournament is a step towards Athens 2004 and I am confident we will return with flying colours.”
Team manager Barney Kujane said: “This is a good test for us because we have already won locally so it will be good to see how we fare away from home.”
The tournament will mark Angolan President Eduardo dos Santos’s 59th birthday and the fifth anniversary of the President Eduardo dos Santos Foundation.
The under-17 squad is doing well in the inaugural Cosafa under-17 tournament in Malawi. South Africa beat Zimbabwe 1-0 in their first match, thrashed Nambia 4-0 in the quarterfinals and will face Swaziland in the semifinals.