Amajimbos head coach Vela Khumalo has announced a 42-man South African U17 prelim squad as preparations for the 2025 U17 CAF AFCON later this month gets underway.
Mzansi were pitted against heavyweights Burkina Faso, Egypt and the winner of the UNIFFAC region in Group B with 10 African nations qualifying for the expanded 2025 FIFA U17 FIFA World Cup in Qatar between 5 -27 November 2025.
Amajimbos had initially missed out on partaking in the continental showpiece after going down 2-1 to Zambia in the COSAFA U17 Championship semifinals in 2024, but were reinstated after CAF expanded the tournament from 12 to 16 teams.
Khumalo expressed delight at the talent at his disposal and vowed to get his ideal team that will be part of three nations (with Zambia & Angola) representing the COSAFA region.
“Firstly, we want to express how happy we are to be the third country from the COSAFA region to be going to participate in the 2025 CAF U17 AFCON in Morocco. We were shattered after the COSAFA semifinals in December 2024 where we lost 2-1 to Zambia,” said Khumalo on safa.net.
“We believe we have a great team that has to be seen by the world, and we will be going to the AFCON to ensure that we book a place in the FIFA U17 World Cup. We have called up 42 players to our training camp before deciding on the final squad for the AFCON. We will have a look at other players that may have peaked over the last year, players who may have been on our radar since 2024 and players that we may need to call up to reinforce the team.
“We are excited about the prospects of 2025 and the endless possibilities for this group of players. We are also happy with the draw but will be watching the UNIFAC tournament very closely to study our last opponent of Group B.”
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Here’s the 42-man prelim squad:
