The Road to Rio

Plans are taking shape for the Under-23s to shine at the Rio Olympics.

Owen de Gama is upbeat about our Olympic chances

Africa’s eyes will be on the South African Under-23 team when the Olympics begin in Brazil in August this year. The side qualified for the tournament by finishing third at the Nations Cup finals played in Senegal in December – one of the stepping stones in Safa’s Vision 2022. The last time AmaGlug-glug qualified for the Olympics was in 2000 when the games were held in Australia. Shakes Mashaba’s side finished third in their group after losing 2-1 to both Japan and Slovakia – after beating Brazil 3-1. This time around coach Owen da Gama will be hoping to go one step further. “It was not easy to qualify and I expected the tournament in Senegal to be tough, Da Gama says. “We knew we didn’t have all the preparations we should have had and after speaking to Nigerian coach Samson Siasia it was evident that they had a better build-up. But despite that we performed well and I was happy. “We could have done better and some players were not at their best because it was their first time spending so long in camp. Considering all that, we went there to qualify and that is what we did. This achievement puts the country in a good mood and I’m happy for the players – they deserve this achievement. “Now our target is to go past the group stages in Brazil. The important thing is to have an achievable target and anything beyond that will be a bonus.” South Africa’s Class of 2000 began their journey at Under-17 level before graduating to the Under-20s – a side which finished runners-up at the African Youth Championships in 1997 in Morocco and qualified for the Under-20 World Cup in Malaysia later that year. Three years later, led by Matthew Booth, AmaGlug-glug reached the Olympics. Unlike the Class of 2000, Da Gama’s team has not been together for a very long time, but Booth believes that will not be a stumbling block. “With us it was almost a six-year journey and by the time we reached the Olympics we knew each other very well,” Booth says. “Even before the African Youth Championships we were a formidable team and we were strengthened by travels around the world. We experienced every continent; just the travelling alone made us stronger. And that helped create a special bond amongst players. “After we qualified we didn’t have to do lots of preparations and that was the benefit. We were together for only two to three weeks for our qualifiers. “The Olympics itself made us special, but it’s a pity we didn’t go through to the next stage and I hope the current generation will go further than us,” Booth says. “The current team is good and I was very impressed when I first saw them – and fortunately for them the big differ-

ence is that the PSL and Safa has allowed clubs to release players. That allowed Owen da Gama to pick the best players.” With less than seven months before the tournament kicks off in Brazil, Da Gama admits that he has his work cut out as far as the preparations are concerned. Unlike the Fifa World Cup, Under-20 and Under-17 World Cups, the Olympics do not fall in the Fifa calendar and clubs are not obliged to release players for qualifiers or friendly matches. But previously – as was the case for London 2012 Olympics – Fifa has insisted that clubs release players for the tournament itself. While Da Gama will be able to get the players on Fifa international weeks, he faces difficulties in organising training camps. But he says he has

already made plans which will have all his players participating fully. “We are busy having meetings about this. The good thing is that we know during the Fifa dates we are guaranteed to get the best players – unless they are playing for Bafana Bafana. “We are also busy lining up a number of friendlies. In May we are going to a tournament in Europe and after that we will try and organise a short camp and then allow the players to rest before we go to the tournament itself. “I’ve been in touch with Europe-based Lebogang Phiri and Lobogang Mothiba. They have been part of the team, but we could not have them in Senegal because the tournament was not a Fifa date. We are also monitoring other players. “It’s a long way to go before Rio and we need to strategise. The PSL has been good to us as well and we could not have qualified if it wasn’t for their help.” Da Gama will be able to select three over-age players as per the rules – but says he will only decide names later. “It’s important we select them because all the teams will utilise over age players. It’s something I need to discuss with the rest of the technical team, technical director and CEO,” he says.

“The PSL has been good to us and we could not have qualified if it wasn’t for their help.”