CAPE TOWN – A quartet of Cape Town footballers will be hoping to make the final cut for Bafana Bafana’s Cosafa Cup squad.
Cape Town clubs have been informed that rookie City central defender Taariq Fielies is in the 30-man preliminary squad, while the Ajax Cape Town names included are goalkeeper Brandon Petersen, midfielder Grant Margeman and club captain and left-back Mosa Lebusa.
The Cosafa Cup is a competition for countries from the southern part of Africa.
This year the event will take place in the Limpopo Province, from May 27-June 9. Bafana start their campaign at the quarter-final stage with a clash against either Mozambique, Seychelles, Comoros or Madagascar.
While the final 20-man Bafana Cosafa squad will be announced on May 20, clubs have officially been informed of the names in the preliminary 30-man squad. South Africa usually uses the tournament to blood new talent, hence the inclusion of a player like Fielies.
Last year, the defender from Salt River arrived at City as a complete unknown. Back in 2012, he was considered surplus to requirements by the Ajax PSL squad. He spent the next few years in the lower tier with Milano United until he was handed a lifeline by City.
Coach Benni McCarthy took an instant liking to the defender and, ever since, the 25-year-old has never looked back. He has been a consistent performer throughout the season.
“Dedication, hard work and being at the right club are career-changing attributes, which are bound to get you noticed,” said City owner John Comitis.
“When we signed Fielies, I had no doubt he would step up. The never-say-die attitude he showed in my early encounter with him as a youth at Ajax has never left him. He has been one of our key signings this season.”
For Ajax, this is Petersen’s second call-up as he was in the squad for the recent Four Nations tournament in Zambia.
It’s Margeman’s first senior call, but he was an influential member of the squad at the U20 FIFA World Cup in South Korea last year.
The in-form Lebusa, two goals in his last two games from left-back, gets a well-deserved recall – his last time with Bafana was back in 2015.