Will Club Brugge release Campbell for U-20 AFCON? Mdaka speaks
Amajita head coach Raymond Mdaka has addressed the uncertainty surrounding Club Brugge’s decision to release teenage sensation Shandre Campbell for the CAF Under-20 AFCON tournament.
Mdaka was speaking following their 6-0 win over Botswana in a friendly match at the UJ Soweto Campus on Saturday afternoon. This is part of Amajita’s preparations for the AFCON tournament.
The SA U20 mentor, Mdaka, announced his 30-member preliminary squad on Wednesday, 12 March 2025. Mdaka is expected to trim the squad to the final 23 players in due course, where international players will be included.
Mdaka’s preliminary squad consists of local-based players only, with Kaizer Chiefs having the highest number of players with seven, while Mamelodi Sundowns has five players.
Amajita are drawn in Group B alongside Egypt, Nigeria, and Morocco. The tournament is scheduled to begin from 26 April to 18 May 2025.
Mdaka’s boys secured their spot in the AFCON U20 tournament by triumphing in the COSAFA U-20 Championship, where they overcame Zambia 2-0 in October last year.
This competition will serve as the qualifiers for the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup, which is scheduled to take place in Chile from 27 September to 19 October 2025. The semifinalists of this year’s AFCON U-20 tournament will find themselves travelling to Chile.
WHAT RAYMOND MDAKA SAID ABOUT SHANDRE CAMPBELL’S AVAILABILITY
Mdaka confirmed that they had fruitful engagements with Brugge to release the talented attacker. So far, the coach confirmed they will have the SuperSport United product for the U-20 AFCON as per their agreement.
He [Mdaka] went on to add that goalkeeper Lowe Fletcher, who turns out for Estoril Praia in Portugal, will also be on the squad.
Campbell played an important role in helping the team qualify for AFCON. He scored three goals during the COSAFA U-20 Championship and was named the Player of the tournament. Meanwhile, Fletcher walked away with the Goalkeeper of the Tournament without conceding a goal.
“We have been having a very good engagement with the team [Club Brugge] for Shandre [Campbell],” said Mdaka in a post-match interview with Football Stage.
“Shandre was here in the first camp when we started building up the team. When we went to Lesotho, it was just the time he had started playing that side [in Belgium], and we decided not to include him in the squad so that he could gel with his new teammates because it was just a friendly game.
“So, we said we would get him when we go to the 2024 COSAFA U-20 Championships, and indeed we got him. Even now, the senior team manager is engaging with the team [Club Brugge]. So, based on our agreement, we will have Shandre and Lowe [Fletcher] on the team for the AFCON.”
The U-20 AFCON tournament will feature 13 countries vying for the U-20 AFCON title starting next month.
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