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Safa makes late changes after clubs refuse to release players

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YOUNG VETERAN Nompumelelo Nyandeni will make her second appearance at the Games      PHOTO: Lee Warren / gallo images
YOUNG VETERAN Nompumelelo Nyandeni will make her second appearance at the Games PHOTO: Lee Warren / gallo images

The SA Football Association (Safa) only finished its player’s list for the men’s Olympic team hours before the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) announced the athletes’ names on Thursday morning.

South Africa’s Under-23 coach Owen Da Gama was forced to make last-minute changes following the withdrawal of footballers Lebogang Phiri and Andile Jali. The latter was expected to be one of three over-age players on the side.

The players, both of whom are based overseas, were in the final team for Rio de Janeiro, but their clubs – Brøndby of Denmark and Belgium side KV Oostende, respectively – refused to release them.

Jali’s omission leaves Itumeleng Khune and Eric Mathoho as the only two over-age players.

City Press can reveal the two late replacements were Bidvest Wits midfielder Phumlani Ntshangase and Brazil-based Tyroane Sandows, who plays for Grêmio.

Mamelodi Sundowns winger Keagan Dolly, who missed the Cosafa Cup in Namibia and the trip to Japan last month, will reunite with his team mates and lead them in Rio.

Dolly was part of the Bafana Bafana side that demolished Gambia last month, where he scored a brace. He has also been an integral part of Sundowns’ CAF Champions League campaign.

Safa CEO Dennis Mumble confirmed that the team was only finalised at 1am on Thursday.

He said they waited until the last possible moment to give the two a chance to convince their clubs.

“It was a difficult one for us because the tournament falls out of the Fifa calendar, so clubs are not obliged to release players.

Andile’s club refused and he said we should give him time so he could talk to them.

He said he would do so by Tuesday, but Tuesday went by without any word from him and time was not on our side, hence we had to make last-minute changes,” said Mumble.

But he was full of credit for the PSL for allowing the league to start at a later date so clubs could release the players.

“We are indebted to the league for making this decision as it means they put the country first. The league has been supportive to our programme as we have never struggled with getting players.”

Mumble said with the kind of support Safa gave to the Under-23s and Banyana Banyana, they expected the two teams to at least get out of the group stages and qualify for the knockout stages of their respective tournaments.

Banyana Banyana, who will make their second successive appearance at the Games, recently returned from the US, where they lost 1-0 to their hosts. Before then, they played two friendly games in Holland last month.

Da Gama’s side also lost to Japan in a friendly last month.

Banyana midfielder Nompumelelo Nyandeni, who will make her second appearance at the Games, said she wanted the team to leave a lasting mark in Rio.

The 29-year-old, who spent three seasons in Russia, is one of the most experienced players in the side with 125 caps. Banyana have been drawn against hosts Brazil, China and Sweden.

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