A case of one in, one out for Owen

IT is a case of one in and one out for national U23 coach Owen da Gama as he looks to finalise his squad for the Africa U23 Cup of Nations in Senegal later this month.

Da Gama will have the services of French-based forward Lebogang Mothiba, if he decides to select the 19year-old, but will be without midfielder Lebogang Phiri who plays in Denmark.

Mothiba’s French club Lille have said they will release him for the tournament. The player features in the club’s reserve side, who play in the fifth tier of football in that country.

He netted in his last outing for the team and insiders say he is making steady progress at the club.

“We could not get Mothiba for the training camp this week but the club have said they will release him for Senegal if we decide to select him,” Da Gama said.

“We did not have the opportunity to bring Phiri into the camp, as it falls on Fifa dates, but his Danish side [Brondby] made it clear in no uncertain terms that he would not be released for the tournament. So we have had to look at other options.”

The Africa U23 Cup of Nations, which also serves as the qualification tournament for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro next year, is being played outside of the Fifa match day calendar, so clubs are not obliged to release their players.

The Premier Soccer League worked the tournament into their fixture list this season to encourage domestic clubs to support the national team, but for those potential stars in Europe, there is no such incentive.

Phiri, a regular of his side, Brondby, will only be free when the Danish League takes a winter recess on December 7, the day before the semifinals start in Senegal.

Aside from Phiri and Mothiba, the only other Europeanbased player Da Gama has selected is defender Ntuthuko Radebe, who plays for Belgium.

South Africa play the hosts on November 28 and Zambia on December 1. Their final Group A game is against Tunisia three days later.

Amaglug-glug need to finish in the top three in the competition to book a place at the Olympic Games next August.