The road to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games has officially begun for South Africa’s Under-23 men’s national team, with head coach Raymond Mdaka naming a 33-player squad for a selection camp aimed at laying the foundation for the upcoming qualification campaign.
The six-day camp, which started on Wednesday and concludes on Monday, 6 July 2026, brings together some of the country’s brightest young talents from the Premier Soccer League (PSL), Motsepe Foundation Championship and ABC Motsepe League.
South Africa will begin their quest for a place at the 2028 Olympic Games during the African qualifying campaign, with preliminary rounds scheduled for September, followed by further home-and-away qualifiers in November and December.
Mdaka said the camp is crucial because there will be no other opportunity to assemble the squad before the qualifiers begin.
“We are basically in preparation for the Olympic Games qualifiers which will be staged in September, November and December on a home-and-away basis, so we decided to have this camp as we don’t have any other dates, with the next window close to the qualifiers,” Mdaka said.
The coach explained that the selection includes players who have been getting regular game time at their respective clubs, giving them the best opportunity to build a competitive squad.
Among those invited are several players who featured in South Africa’s FIFA Under-20 World Cup campaign last year, providing valuable international experience to the group.
“What excites me is that about 60 percent of the players here were with us during the U20 COSAFA tournament. This is only a selection camp and the door is not closed for anyone. There are still players locally and overseas whom we are monitoring,” Mdaka added.
The squad features representatives from top-flight clubs including Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates, Stellenbosch FC, Mamelodi Sundowns, AmaZulu FC, Richards Bay FC, Polokwane City and Sekhukhune United.
Highly rated youngsters such as Mfundo Vilakazi, Neo Rapoo, Camren Dansin, Simphiwe Selepe, Vincent Sithole and Tauric Gamildien are among the players expected to stake a claim for places in the final Olympic qualifying squad.
The surviving teams from the qualification rounds will progress to next year’s U23 Africa Cup of Nations, where the two finalists will secure Africa’s coveted places at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
With only two Olympic football spots allocated to the African continent, South Africa faces a demanding road but will be hoping this selection camp marks the beginning of a successful qualification campaign.