The South African Football Association (SAFA) have been left angered by Mamelodi Sundowns’ refusal to allow Siyabonga Mabena to join the preparation camp for the U17 Africa Cup of Nations.
Mabena, 16, has emerged as one of the nations’ brightest prospects over the past 12 months after winning the Player of the Tournament and scoring nine goals in the U17 Cosafa Cup that secured their place in the AFCON in Algeria this month.
He’s since signed for Sundowns, and become the youngest player to feature in the 2022/23 DStv Premiership campaign and naturally excitement has started to brew, with head coach Rulani Mokwena going on as far to liken him to late Gift Leremi.
A high-ranking official in SAFA contacted iDiski Times earlier on Thursday to reveal the situation stating they contacted each club on 12 March, notifying them of the call-up and dates for the preparation camp ahead of selecting the final squad.
“This week, they said they will not release Mabena due to PSL commitments and we won’t be surprised if he plays 10 minutes against Stellenbosch,” the source stated.
“They want to release Mabena when the tournament begins but we need to do our own MRI tests tomorrow – before going to Algeria.”
Several overseas-based players were selected in the provisional squad; Arron Rydell (Nordsjaelland), Lucas Jetten (AFC Ajax) and Thuto Mojanang (Feyenoord) will not be traveling to South Africa for the camp also due to school commitments and their clubs stating the tournament falls outside the FIFA calendar dates.
“Some overseas-based players will not be part of the squad, but some as far as the United States traveled but we have to fight with a local club,” he added.
“We have nothing against Sundowns, but we facing issues to have the best possible preparation for the tournament.”
The final squad selected needs to be registered with CAF next week Wednesday, 19, April.
