Amajita head coach Raymond Mdaka has addressed Mbekezeli Mbokazi’s absence from the SA Under-20 squad ahead of the CAF 2025 AFCON U-20 tournament in Egypt.
The AFCON U-20 competition will start on Sunday, 27 April, and end on Sunday, 18 May 2025. Mdaka’s troops are pitted in Group A of the tournament alongside the hosts Egypt, Sierra Leone, Zambia, and Tanzania.
Amajita will play their first game against the host nation, Egypt, on the 27th of April at Cairo International Stadium. The match will start at 20:00 [SA time].
Mdaka expressed his disappointment at not having one of his key players in Mbokazi, citing that the Orlando Pirates teenage sensation has been with the squad since he took over as Amajita coach in March 2024.
Pirates went against releasing the 19-year-old defender, as teams are not obligated to let go of their players for the AFCON U-20 tournament since it is staged outside the FIFA calendar.
RAYMOND MDAKA ON MBEKEZELI MBOKAZI’S ABSENCE
“I need to be very honest, the boy was very key in terms of our defence. He is a player that I have been with since the beginning of the camp when I took over,” said Mdaka. “So, players tend to understand each other on how they play and all these other things.
“Well, like any other player, he is key, but honestly, he was one of the important players in our defence.”
Mbokazi has since been replaced by Thato Sibiya, one of the players on the standby for Amajita.
OTHER PLAYERS NOT JOINING AMAJITA SQUAD
Mbokazi is not the only player who will not be joining Amajita. Shandre Campbell of Club Brugge will not be part of Mdaka’s squad after the Belgian giants refused to release him.
Another player who has been left out is Mamelodi Sundowns’ Siyabonga Mabena. The player has been ruled out for the rest of the season with an Anterior Cruciate Ligament [ACL] injury.
“…From the group we had before, we don’t have Shandre [Campbell]. The issue of Shandre was sad. Some three weeks back, the team manager said he’s in the first team, so it will be difficult for them to release him. Well, Mabena is injured, and he was one of the key players,” he added.
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