15 January 2019 –South Africa’s National Under-20 (Amajita) head coach, Thabo Senong, expressed his gratitude to the clubs that released their players to the u20 squad currently in camp leading up to this year’s Africa Under-20 Cup of Nations set to take place in Niger.
That biennial continental showpiece will take place from 2–17 February in Niger’s capital Niamey and Maradi.
As it stands, a total of 24 out of the 34 players called in to form part of the provisional squad, have reported for camp. Senong said he is confident that he would have a full provisional squad by Thursday, 17 January.
Amajita will hold their first training session at Nike Football Training Centre in Pimville, Soweto this evening at 18h00.
The team will then travel to Nelspruit, Mpumalanga on Wednesday (16 January), where they will continue with their preparations before they jet off to Niger.
“I would like to thank all the clubs for realising their players to form part of this camp,” Senong said. “We now have a total of 24 players, which is a good number in my view.
“It gives us a chance to start laying the tactical foundation of how we want the team to play once we arrive to Niger. The team will travel to Nelspruit on Wednesday where will continue with our preparations prior to our departure to West Africa.
“We expect all players to be in by Thursday.”
Senong added that their camp in Nelspruit will play a key role in getting his charges into the right physical, emotional and psychological state. The wellness of these three aspects of his players’ makeup will help them to perform to the best of their abilities in the upcoming continental showdown.
Amajita are in Group A, and will face hosts Niger, Burundi and Nigeria; in pursuit of reaching the semi-final stages of the tournament.
A top four finish will see South Africa secure a place in the upcoming 2019 FIFA Under-20 World Cup set to take place in Poland from 23 May to 15 June.