No Foster or Kaizer Chiefs player in Broos’ Bafana preliminary squad

There was no place for any player from ailing Soweto giants Kaizer Chiefs when Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos named a 34-man preliminary squad for his team's 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier against Morocco at FNB Stadium on June 17.

The match is a dead rubber as both teams have qualified for the Nations Cup from Group K, but the arrival in South Africa of the 2010 World Cup semifinalists and No 1-ranked team in Africa has still been keenly anticipated.

Another absence from Broos' squad named on Tuesday is of promising striker Lyle Foster, whose Burnley clinched the English Championship title earlier this month, earning the Lancashire club a place in the Premier League next season.

With Broos's squad conveyed via a press release from the South African Football Association (Safa), and no explanation given for Foster's exclusion, his absence from the squad list remains a mystery for now.

Given Broos included many of his front-line players, including Ronwen Williams, Teboho Mokoena, Themba Zwane and Percy Tau, Orlando Pirates youth product Foster's absence might raise eyebrows.

Chiefs, who have gone eight seasons without a trophy and finished a disappointing fifth as the 2022-23 DStv Premiership concluded on Saturday, have no representatives among the 34 players.

Runaway league winners and Caf Champions League semifinalists Mamelodi Sundowns have 10 players included. Premiership runners-up Orlando Pirates have four, as do third-placed SupeSport United.

There had been some doubt about the confirmed venue for the game as Safa owed the company that administers FNB Stadium, Stadium Management SA (SMSA), an outstanding debt of about R1,5m.

However Safa came to an agreement with SMSA in a meeting on Tuesday and the 2010 World Cup final venue was cleared to host the qualifier.

Coach Walid Regragui's superb Morocco made history becoming the first African team to reach a World Cup semifinal in Qatar in December.

The Atlas Lions lost 2-0 to eventual runners-up France in the last-four, and 2-1 to Croatia in the third-place playoff.

While they have clinched their qualification already, Bafana, ranked 66th in the world and 12th in Africa, are eager to try to for a morale-boosting win against the crack North Africans, who are ranked 11th in the world.

A measure of the seriousness with which Broos is approaching the game is he has had Safa arrange an additional week's prematch camp mostly for his local-based players, for which the association has apparently secured backing from Premiership clubs, from May 31 until the full squad assembles on June 11.

“The preliminary squad will be trimmed to 23 players early next month when Broos announces his final list for the eagerly anticipated match between the two sides,” Safa said.

Bafana lost 2-1 to Morocco in their opening Group K game in Rabat in June 2022.

South Africa suffered a shock 2-2 draw against Liberia at Orlando Stadium on March 24, then redeemed themselves with the result that saw them through to the Afcon, beating the Lone Stars 2-1 in Monrovia four days later.

That result took Bafana to four points, which Liberia can still reach if they shock 2022 World Cup semifinalists Morocco in September in their last game. Bafana, however, would still go through on Caf’s head-to-head ruling from their results against the Liberians.

Group K was made a vastly easier prospect for Broos's team when Zimbabwe were expelled from the tournament ahead of the qualifiers by Fifa over government interference in the sport in that country.

The 2023 Nations Cup in Ivory Coast is being staged in January and February 2024 after being moved from June and July 2023 due to heat concerns in that country's summer.

Bafana preliminary squad

RONWEN WILLIAMS (MAMELODI SUNDOWNS)

VELI MOTHWA (AMAZULU)

RICARDO GOSS (SUPERSPORT UNITED)

MELUSI BUTHELEZI (TS GALAXY)

GIVEN MSIMANGO (TS GALAXY)

THAPELO MASEKO (SUPERSPORT UNITED)

NYIKO MOBBIE (SEKHUKHUNE UNITED)

INNOCENT MAELA (ORLANDO PIRATES)

NKOSINATHI SIBISI (ORLANDO PIRATES)

TAARIQ FIELIES (CAPE TOWN CITY)

SIYANDA XULU (TURAN TOVUZ, AZERBAIJAN)

THAPELO MORENA (MAMELODI SUNDOWNS)

MAPHOSA MODIBA (MAMELODI SUNDOWNS)

GRANT KEKANA (MAMELODI SUNDOWNS)

KHULISO MUDAU (MAMELODI SUNDOWNS)

MOTHOBI MVALA (MAMELODI SUNDOWNS)          

TEBOHO MOKOENA (MAMELODI SUNDOWNS)

BATHUSI AUBAAS (TS GALAXY)

NJABULO BLOM (SAINT LOUIS CITY, US)       

GRANT MARGEMAN (SUPERSPORT UNITED)

MIGUEL TIMM (ORLANDO PIRATES)

SPHELELE MKHULISE (MAMELODI SUNDOWNS)

LUKE LE ROUX (VARBORG)

MONNAPULE SALENG (ORLANDO PIRATES)

THEMBA ZWANE (MAMELODI SUNDOWNS)

ZAKHELE LEPASA (SUPERSPORT UNITED)

CASSIUS MAILULA (MAMELODI SUNDOWNS)

KOBAMELO KODISANG (MOREIRENSE, PORTUGAL)

KHANYISA MAYO (CAPE TOWN CITY)

MIHLALI MAYAMBELA (ARIS LIMASSOL, CYPRUS)    

BONGOKUHLE HLONGWANE (MINNESOTA FC, US)

PERCY TAU (AL AHLY, EGYPT)

PULE MMODI (GOLDEN ARROWS)

IQRAAM RAYNERS (STELLENBOSCH FC)