Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has revealed why Sibongiseni Mthethwa, Tapelo Xoki, Iqraam Rayners and Elias Mokwana aren’t part of their camp ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations.
The trio were confirmed as the standby players outside of the 23-man squad submitted to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) ahead of the continental showpiece.
But none travelled with the squad that are currently in camp at the Stellenbosch Academy of Sport (SAS) where they had their first training session on Friday afternoon.
“I think it’s players are not happy, that if after four days I have to tell them [you have to leave the camp] but we go with this 23 [players] but they know they have to be ready for it [if there’s an injury],” he told SAFA Media.
“If nothing happens in this camp, I don’t need them – only if there’s a big injury then we call someone else again – I did it in Cameroon, we started with 28 players and it’s not easy to tell a player you’re not going with us.
“‘Why, why, why’, there can be different reasons and I didn’t want to have that again, so with those 23 who are here, let’s hope nothing happens – but if something does happen, I know I can count on those three guys [on standby].”
Broos will be looking to make a statement in Ivory Coast, having won the AFCON with Cameroon in 2017 – his first taste of the biennial event.
