Johannesburg – With under a month to go until the start of the African Nations Championship (Chan), there remains absolutely no clarity on who will represent Bafana Bafana at the tournament, which will be hosted in South Africa from January 11 to February 1 next year.
The South African Football Association and the Premier Soccer League were supposed to meet on Monday to iron out some kind of agreement, with PSL clubs not obliged to release their players, as the competition does not fall in the official Fifa calendar.
The meeting, however was postponed, after Nelson Mandela’s passing, though Safa president Danny Jordaan said that some contact had already been made with the PSL.
“We talked, but we need to formalise the position,” said Jordaan. “We couldn’t and today I am going to the Cosafa tournament in Maseru, and then I will come back and go to Qunu for the (Mandela) funeral. We will find a solution in the interest of both parties.
“We will probably have an answer by next week.”
Bafana coach Gordon Igesund is hoping to pick his strongest available squad for the competition, which is open only to players who play in the domestic leagues of the competing countries.
That, however, will probably depend on the PSL postponing all their games for their duration of the tournament. The league is currently set to resume after its Christmas break on January 23, slap bang in the middle of Chan. There are even a set of fixtures scheduled for February 2, the day after the final.
“I am not sure (what my squad will be),” said Igesund on Thursday.
“It was unfortunate, with the passing of Mandela, that the meeting couldn’t take place on Monday. I am hoping to get clarity in the next day or two.”
The Star