24 March 2023 – The South African Under-16 side departs for Poland on Friday (24 March 2023) night to participate in a tournament that coach Zipho Dlangalala hopes will lay the foundation for a bright future for his players.
The tournament runs from 27 March to 1 April 2023 and the participants are the hosts Poland, Luxembourg and Northern Ireland.
Dlangalala has spent the last few days running the rule over his players at the SAFA National Technical Centre in the south of Johannesburg and he said the preparations for the tournament have gone very well.
“We are very pleased and we are looking forward to having a very good experience, especially for this young group. It may seem like nothing today but with time every international match adds value and improves the players,” he said.
“If South Africa had the resources and the ability, this should be happening every three or four months for our young players to play, not necessarily overseas, but to play outside the country and prepare themselves for the future.
“The future is for them. So it will always be a good experience for them to play against people that they do not usually see or play against. So yes, it will be a very important experience for this young group of players and one hopes that this particular trip will set the tone and open the doors for the future and for the other players.”
The first game for South Africa will be against Northern Ireland on 27 March and two days later, the African side will play Poland before wrapping up their itinerary with a game against Luxembourg on 1 April.
The team leaves for Poland on Friday 25 March and is expected back in South Africa on 3 April. Dlangalala will be assisted by Mandla Mathaba while Thomas Nare will be the goalkeeper coach.
“Everything has a start and I’m very pleased that we are making that start now. We are looking forward to the trip and hoping everything goes well.”