South African U20 Women’s National Team coach, Simphiwe Dludlu has made changes to her initial squad that will take part in the first ever U20 COSAFA Championships in Nelson Mandela Bay from 1 August 2019 – 11 August 2019.
Basetsana are in Group A alongside Zimbabwe, Namibia and Malawi and will play their matches at Gelvandal Stadium. Dludlu has had to make changes to her initial squad due to unavailability of certain players who are committed with their studies.
The coach has replaced the famous Shamase twins from Sunflower F.C (Sphumelele and Thubelihle) with Siyamthanda Mbatha of Kovsies F.C and Tshegofatso Motlogelwa from Soweto Fabulous Ladies.
She has also been forced to replace the injured University of Cape Town’s Goalkeeper Leigh Brophy with University of Witwatersrand’s Robyn Coetzee.
The Former Banyana Player Acknowledged the Difficulties of Having to Juggle Her Squad Due to Educational Commitments
“We work with a very challenging group of players who have to juggle their education with their football careers. At times it is disappointing to have to replace players that you want in your team, however, this is the nature of your job as a coach.
“We will go into camp on 28 July 2019 ahead of our opening match of the COSAFA Championships, on 1 August 2019 against Zimbabwe. We will then face Namibia on 3 August 2019 at the same venue, before their last group A match against Malawi on 5 August 2019,” concluded Dludlu, to the South African Football Association media.
SA U/20 Women Squad for 2019 COSAFA CUP:
Goalkeepers:
1 Kaydee Windvogel High Performance Centre (SA)
2 Robyn Coetzee Wits (SA)
3 Sphesihle Dlamini Wits (SA)
Defenders:
4 Lonathemba Mhlongo Durban Ladies (SA)
5 Lebohang Ntabeni Wits (SA)
6 Tyler-Bree Joss TUKS FC (SA)
7 Fikile Magama Dangerous Heroes United (SA)
8 Sarah Walker JVW FC (SA)
9 Ayanda Ncube Wits (SA)
Midfielders:
10 Oratile Mokwena Mamelodi Sundowns FC (SA)
11 Zethembiso Vilakazi Lindelani FC (SA)
12 Miche Minnies Santos FC (SA)
13 Siyamthanda Mbatha Kovsies FC (SA)
14 Tshegofatso Motlogelwa Soweto Fabulous Ladies FC (SA)
15 Ember Edwards RV United FC (SA)
16 Serenity Warner University of Cape Town (SA)
17 Jessica Wade JVW FC (SA)
Forwards:
18 Kirsten Nolan Mamelodi Sundowns FC (SA)
19 Refilwe Maseko University of Johannesburg (SA)
20 Shakeera Jacobs Wits (SA)
Photo 1 Caption: U20 South African Women’s National Team head coach, Simphiwe Dludlu pictured at the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup, in November 2018, in Uruguay. Photo: @simphiwe_shorty_dludlu on Instagram