Emile Witbooi set to miss South Africa Under-20s’ Cosafa Cup opener

Cape Town City winger Emile Witbooi will join South Africa’s Under-20 squad after their opening Cosafa Cup match, following an agreement that allows him to play for his club this weekend.

National Under-20 coach Raymond Mdaka confirmed that Witbooi will miss Amajita’s first game of the tournament against Lesotho on Saturday. The winger is scheduled to feature for Cape Town City in their Motsepe Foundation Championship fixture against North West University on the same day.

Amajita are due to travel to Mozambique on Thursday for the Cosafa Cup, which runs from September 18 to 27. South Africa have been drawn in Group B alongside Lesotho, Angola and Eswatini.

Mdaka provided an update on Witbooi’s availability during the team’s training session at Marks Park in Johannesburg on Monday afternoon.

“Some few players arrived yesterday. Madiba is arriving tonight because he was playing on Saturday night. Witbooi was also playing and they requested us to at least, for a compromise, to have him after the game the on the 19th. We afforded him because of his quality,” Mdaka told media.

The coach said the decision had also been made with the group’s match schedule in mind. South Africa face Lesotho on the 19th, Angola on the 21st and Eswatini on the 23rd.

“Also, looking at the fixture we have, we are playing on the 19th against Lesotho and on the 21st against Angola and play on the 23rd against Eswatini. He will be able to join us after our match.”

Witbooi will therefore link up with the squad after Cape Town City’s fixture, allowing him to take part in the remainder of South Africa’s Cosafa Cup campaign.