Raymond Mdaka urges South Africa U23s to seize Olympic qualification chance

South Africa U23 head coach Raymond Mdaka has told his players to treat their bid to qualify for the 2028 Olympic Games as a potentially once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

The team are also pursuing qualification for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations and begin a crucial second-round tie against Madagascar on Saturday afternoon at Lucas Moripe Stadium.

Mdaka spoke at the squad’s training base at the University of Pretoria, where he said Olympic qualification was a key target for both the technical team and the players.

“It might not be for me only but let it be for the whole team and the technical team, doing such a great job for the country and with this group we hope to do as much as we can, make sure that possibly we qualify for the Olympics, that’s what we’re looking at,” Mdaka told journalists.

“That’s what also the boys know. We always say to them, ‘This is once in a lifetime opportunity, you might not get it again, at least it’s a good representation of who you are as a player, it’s a motivation to the whole team.’”

The tie against Madagascar will be played over two legs, with the opening match taking place at Lucas Moripe Stadium. Mdaka said the importance of the assignment had been made clear to the players as they attempt to keep their Olympic ambition alive.

The former Marumo Gallants head coach also faces a difficult decision in naming his final 23-man squad, with a large pool of talented U23 players available for selection.

“With the kind of talent that we have, we always say the challenge it will always be difficult to come up with your 23 (players) but we’ve got a pool. I think that preliminary group we always pick is always helping us to juggle around,” he said.

Mdaka explained that regular club football and match minutes would be central to the selection process, alongside each player’s ability and contribution to their team.

“And what do we do when we juggle around? We always try to find players that are playing regularly, players who have minutes. Always looking at the competency, to say how good are they and how much are they doing in their own teams.”

However, the coach acknowledged that some players may not be receiving regular game time and said familiarity could also influence his final choices.

“Some of them you might say they might not be getting those minutes but sometimes it’s better to stay what we know rather than something we don’t know, so we play around that,” Mdaka added.