Baxter’s Afcon plans hit a wall over passports
Stuart Baxter’s plan to expedite FC Zurich rightback Joel Untersee and Crystal Palace centreback Nikola Tavares’ inclusion into the Bafana Bafana squad in time for this month’s African Nations Cup have hit a brick wall.
Baxter revealed on Monday that they encountered numerous hurdles during their attempts to include the two players in the Egypt-bound Bafana squad, and the duo still do not have the South African passports they need to play a part in the continental showpiece.
‘‘Those [two players] for the moment are out of the question‚” Baxter said during Bafana’s first training session in Johannesburg ahead of the Nations Cup.
‘‘We were made to believe that their paperwork would go quicker than it actually can.
‘‘So they are actually back in the loop, but at the moment they are not in my thoughts [for the Nations Cup].”
Asked for the reason behind the delay‚ Baxter said: ‘‘Red tape‚ paperwork‚ bureaucracy‚ yeah‚ all of the above.”
Baxter named both players in his 30-man provisional National Cup squad a few days ago, but has conceded that their failure to get passports has altered his plans.
The Briton had numerous conversations with the two players over the past few months and he was confident that they would be part of the side after they expressed a keen desire to play for Bafana.
The 25-year-old Johannesburg-born Untersee is a Swiss youth international, but he is also eligible to don the SA colours.
The 20-year-old Tavares was born to Croatian parents in Cape Town and holds a passport for the Europe country.
Baxter revealed that most of the players he named in the provisional Nations Cup squad are in camp in Johannesburg and the group was boosted by the arrival of Lars Veldwijk at 7am on Monday morning.
The only concern is around Keagan Dolly’s fitness after he picked up another injury during training in Durban on Friday, ahead of the shadow Bafana side’s clash against Botswana in the Cosafa Cup at the Princess Magogo Stadium at the weekend.
Dolly was scheduled to undergo scans on Monday on his groin after he tweaked it before joining the South African U23 coach David Notoane’s Cosafa Cup squad.