Visa issue leaves Siyabonga Ngezana stuck in Romania
Former Kaizer Chiefs defender Siyabonga Ngezana has been forced to withdraw from the Bafana Bafana squad due to a bureaucratic hurdle.
Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos had called up Ngezana for the upcoming FIFA Series international friendlies in Algeria.
Broos’ troops take on Andorra on Thursday and hosts Algeria five days later. The Bafana coach has repeatedly said he was tempted to take the in-form defender to AFCON but felt it would be premature to throw him into the deep end.
The 26-year-old has been in fine form for Romanian outfit Steaua Bucharest, earning himself a much-awaited call-up to the national team.
With Mothobi Mvala out of the squad, this seemed a perfect opportunity for the Belgian mentor to run the rule over Ngezana.
However, Broos revealed that Ngezana was unable to travel with the national team as he is currently dealing with a lost document.
HUGO BROOS EXPLAINS VISA ISSUE THAT GROUNDED SIYABONGA NGEZANA
“…Ngezana who lost his documents, and for that reason, he couldn’t leave Romania,” explained Broos on Tuesday at a press conference in Annaba.
“Ngezana had a very good season … but now he doesn’t have his documents, so it is not because of us [that he is not here]. It is because of him.”
FARPost established that the document in question is a visa. As such, Ngezana cannot leave Romania until it is resolved otherwise he risks struggling to return to his base after the camp.
Broos added: “Ngezana was playing good last season. We discussed whether to take him to Afcon or not, but we felt it was the first time. Now that he can come, he doesn’t have the documents.”
This unexpected setback comes as a blow to both Ngezana and the national team.
Broos has since called Siyanda Xulu, who had initially been left out of the team.
Ngezana was aiming to secure a spot in Bafana Bafana’s World Cup qualifiers against Nigeria and Zimbabwe in June. However, a lost passport has unfortunately sidelined him from the upcoming camp.
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