Amajita head coach Raymond Mdaka has revealed why Reneilwe Letsholonyane won’t be travelling with the squad to the CAF 2025 AFCON Under-20 tournament in Egypt.
Letsholonyane was appointed as the SA U-20 second assistant coach to the ex-Marumo Gallants gaffer, Mdaka, in March 2024 by SAFA.
Meanwhile, Donald Mojaki was named as the first assistant coach, whereas Karabo Mogudi from the University of Johannesburg’s Varsity Cup is the third assistant coach.
The AFCON U-20 competition is scheduled to commence on Sunday, April 27, and will wrap up on Sunday, May 18, 2025.
The SA U-20 team is drawn in Group A of the tournament alongside the host country, Egypt, Sierra Leone, Zambia, and Tanzania.
THE REASON WHY RENEILWE LETSHOLONYANE WOULDN’T GO TO EGYPT WITH AMAJITA
Mdaka stated that the U-20 rules going to the AFCON tournament only require one assistant coach, one goalkeeper coach, and one analyst.
As a result, ‘Yeye’, as he is well known within the football circles, won’t be able to travel with the national team to Cairo.
“If you were following our programme, we only had ‘Yeye’ once when we went to Lesotho,” said Mdaka. “So, since then, the structure of the institution states that you only have one assistant, one analyst, and one goalkeeper coach; hence, you don’t see him.
“But he is one person who, sometimes, when we are doing sessions, we are always with him because he was once with us.”
Meanwhile, Mdaka has always been a great admirer of the former Bafana Bafana and Kaizer Chiefs midfielder. He has expressed his determination to work with ‘Yeye’.
“You see, football has its own dynamics. ‘Yeye’ has been a player before we even speak about him playing in the World Cup. He has played for our teams in the country; he was an intelligent and very good player, and he played in the World Cup,” Mdaka told FARPost in March last year.
Amajita are set to play their opening match against the home side, Egypt, on April 27 at Cairo International Stadium. The showdown will take place at 20:00 [SA time].
RELATED STORY: Mdaka opens up on working with Letsholonyane at Amajita