Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Keagan Dolly will lead the South African Men’s Olympic Team as captain at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Keagan Dolly will lead the South African Men’s Olympic Team as captain at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
Defenders Kwanda Mngonyama and Rivaldo Coetzee have been appointed vice captains.
Dolly led the squad to Olympic qualification when he wore the armband at the CAF u23 Africa Cup of Nations tournament held in Senegal in 2015, with Mngonyama as his second in command.
Coetzee was given the responsibility at the COSAFA Castle Cup tournament held in Namibia recently, which South Africa won.
The Lotto-funded Men’s Olympic Team face hosts Brazil in their opening match on Thursday, 4 August 2016 in Brasilia.
The South Africans will look to improve on the performance of 2000, the last time they took part in the Olympics.
Head coach Owen da Gama was beaming with pride about the abundance of leaders in his squad.
“Dolly has grown as a player in the past few months, and don’t forget he captained the side through the qualifiers in Senegal late last year. When we started with preparations of the Olympic qualification phase, Kwanda Mngonyama was the captain, while Rivaldo Coetzee led the COSAFA Castle Cup squad. This shows we have many leaders in the squad but only one player can wear the armband on the day,” said Da Gama.
“It is for those reasons that we believe these three are more suitable and capable of leading the team. We are also fortunate that Bafana Bafana captain Itumeleng Khune is with us – a clear indication of the abundance of leaders we have in this team, but the most important thing that players need to remember is that they are all captains, on and off the field, and all need to be exemplary.”
The South Africa vs Brazil clash is scheduled to kick off at 16h00 local time (SA time 21h00) at the Mane Garrincha Stadium.