CAPE TOWN - Bafana Bafana will today name the squad to play friendlies against Zambia and Namibia during the October Fifa international period next week.
The details of the matches have not been finalised and Safa are waiting on government to confirm whether flights will be allowed into and out of the country.
One of the matches will be the annual Nelson Mandela Challenge. Initially, it was scheduled for Windhoek, but it will now be played in South Africa.
Both Namibia and Zambia have stolen a march on Bafana Bafana who are likely to move into camp on Sunday.
Zambia’s 40-man squad have been training in Lusaka for the past week under their new coach Micho Sredojevic, who as a former Orlando Pirates mentor will know the South African players well.
All the players have been drawn from the domestic league but Sredojevi has indicated that some foreign-based Zambians will join the squad ahead of the trip to South Africa.
Namibia’s “Brave Warriors” have also been in camp, in Windhoek, where their squad of 35 locally-based players have been working out under interim coach Bobby Samaria.
Robert Nauseb, who played for more than a decade in South Africa for clubs like Kaizer Chiefs, Ajax Cape Town, Bloemfontein Celtic and Engen Santos, will be Samaria’s assistant.
The two friendlies will help Bafana prepare for Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers in November when there will be back-to-back (home and away) matches against São Tomé e Príncipe.
Bafana coach Molefi Ntseki will announce the squad as well as match details at Safa House in Johannesburg today.
It is likely that Ntseki will name only locally-based players although he has made contact with several players abroad in the hope of securing their services.
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