French-based attacker Keagan Dolly will play in the Bafana Bafana squad that will take part in the Cosafa Cup squad as part of the plan to get him ready for the African Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Egypt next month.
Dolly will be part of the Bafana squad which is predominantly made up of the national U23 team players, as they also prepare for the Afcon U23 championship qualifiers which will resume in September.
The U23 national team coach David Notoane and Bafana head coach Stuart Baxter explain the inclusion of Dolly in the Cosafa Cup squad.
The Cosafa Cup kicks-off on Saturday in Durban until the eighth of next month. Bafana will enter in the quarterfinals and will play Botswana on the second of next month at the Princess Magogo Stadium in KwaMashu.
Another notable inclusion in this Bafana squad for the Cosafa Cup is Zakhele Lepasa, the youngster who helped National First Division side TS Galaxy this past weekend to make history by being the first lower division club to win the Nedbank Cup, beating Kaizer Chiefs 1-0 in the final in Durban.
Notoane has explained that Lepasa was part of the U23 camp going to the matches against Angola in March and they have always been following his progress.
Lepasa, who is on loan from Orlando Pirate, finished as the tournament goal scorer with four goals and also the Player of the tournament.
Crystal Palace U23 captain Nikola Tavares who had earlier been called by Notoane in March is still sorting out his paperwork.
It was revealed by Baxter today that they will be roping in the Ministry of Home Affairs to help them sort out this issue as Tavares also holds the citizenship of Croatia, having represented the European country at junior international level as well.
One of the senior players in this young team is Mamelodi Sundowns goalkeeper Reeyad Pieterse who has hardly had game time at club level. Baxter says Pieterse is still in contention for a place in the Afcon squad. – Report by Velile Mnyandu
Bafana Bafana 2019 COSAFA Squad:
| NO. | PLAYER’S NAME | CLUB |
| GOALKEEPERS: | ||
| 1 | Mondli MPOTO | Bloemfontein Celtic FC (SA) |
| 2. | Darren JOHNSON | Ajax Cape Town FC (SA) |
| 3. | Reyaad PIETERSE | Mamelodi Sundowns FC (SA) |
| DEFENDERS: | ||
| 4. | Thendo MUKUMELA | Ajax Cape Town FC (SA) |
| 5. | Keanu CUPIDO | Cape Town City FC (SA) |
| 6. | Reeve FROSLER | Kaizer Chiefs FC (SA) |
| 7. | Tercious MALEPE | Chippa United FC (SA) |
| 8. | Katlego MOHAMME | SuperSport United FC (SA) |
| 9. | Bongani SAM | Bloemfontein Celtic FC (SA) |
| 10. | Sandile MTHETHWA | Richards Bay FC (SA) |
| MIDFIELDERS: | ||
| 11. | Teboho MOKOENA | Supersport United FC (SA) |
| 12. | Athenkosi DLALA | Supersport United FC (SA) |
| 13. | Keagan DOLLY | Montpellier FC (FRA) |
| 14. | Sipho MBULE | Supersport United FC (SA) |
| 15. | Kamohelo MAHLATSI | Supersport United FC (SA) |
| 16. | Grant MARGEMAN | Ajax Cape Town FC (SA) |
| 17. | Jamie WEBBER | SuperSport United FC (SA) |
| 18. | Kgaogelo SEKGOTA | Vitoria Setubal FC (PORTUGAL) |
| STRIKERS | ||
| 19. | Phakamani MAHLAMBI | Mamelodi Sundowns FC (SA) |
| 20. | Lerato Zakhele LEPASA | TS Galaxy FC (SA) |
| 21. | Jemondre DICKENS | Baroka FC (SA) |
| 22. | Luther SINGH | GD Chaves FC (PORTUGAL) |
| 23. | Liam JORDAN | Koge FC (Denmark) |
