Kaizer Chiefs Stars Frosler and Ngcobo Snubbed for Olympics, to Play in CAF CL Final
- Reeve Frosler and Nkosingiphile Ngcobo will be notable absentees when the South Africa Under-23 team takes to the field at the Tokyo Olympics in Japan
- The news was confirmed on Wednesday afternoon after Kaizer Chiefs chose to retain the pair ahead of the upcoming CAF Champions League final against Al Ahly
- The Naturena outfit's final against the nine-time champions Al Ahly will be staged five days before SA kick off their first game at the men’s Olympic tournament
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Kaizer Chiefs has confirmed the exclusion of two of their stars, Reeve Frosler and Nkosingiphile Ngcobo from South Africa’s Under-23 team to compete at the Tokyo Olympic Games from July.
The club confirmed that this is so they can play in the CAF Champions League final against Egyptian giants Al Ahly scheduled to be played in Morocco on Saturday, 17 July.
Source: Getty Images
SA Under-23 coach David Notoane, speaking at a press briefing, said on Wednesday that the duo will be sacrificed when the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) announces his squad on Thursday.
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The Naturena outfit's final against nine-time champions Al Ahly – under the stewardship of Pitso Mosimane – will be staged just days before SA kick off the men’s Olympic tournament.
Notoane's troops will start their contention hopes by taking on hosts, Japan, at Tokyo Stadium on 22 July. He said the South African Football Association (SAFA) – in their negotiations with Chiefs – according to a TimesLIVE report, explored the option of the players arriving in Japan late‚ but this request was denied.
Notoane left needing to go back to the drawing board but remains hopeful
"It’s a historic moment for Chiefs‚ and it was a possible historic opportunity for the players in terms of the Olympics. I feel really sad‚ especially for Ngcobo‚ who in 2017 was really on top of his game and got injured before going to the [Under-20] World Cup.
"It’s also sad for us. In terms of the quality of the fullback‚ with Reeve now not available. Outside of him, then you have to go for experience because of the young group, he’s probably your best player available there for this magnitude of a tournament. It’s a big blow for us," the coach added.
Briefly News, in a previous report, stated that Notoane was already left a player poorer in Percy Tau after his Premier League club, Brighton & Hove Albion, declined to release the forward for national team duty at the Games.
Defender Thibang Phete and midfielder Sphephelo Sithole, just as with Tau, were also refused a release by their club, Portuguese Primeira club Belenenses SAD. Notoane was left admitting that the loss of the two, in addition to the three internationals, is a further blow to the team.
"And for Ngcobo you’re going to miss the brains‚ the creativity‚ the balance of the left-footed midfielder because there are not many in the country at his age. We tried to explore possibilities of them joining later but the problem is we only have 18 players," Notoane lamented.
"So, if you reserve spots for two guys who are still to come in and acclimatise for six days‚ then you are playing the first match with 14 outfield players. And they have also not prepared with you at all.
"I must also say that before anyone thinks Chiefs are at all unpatriotic‚ the communication has been very honest and professional and understanding between the two entities.
South African Under-23 Olympics Soccer Squad to be unveiled by Friday
SASCOC has announced that the U23 Olympics squad will be announced on Thursday or Friday this week. SASCOC’s media officer Jessica Choga confirmed the date to an external media publication.
Briefly News reported that Notoane is said to have since submitted his list to the country's Olympics body. According to media reports, Notoane sent his list in the past few days but SASCOC will make an announcement just before the team leaves for Japan.
Speaking to TimesLIVE, Choga said they have to send their list of participants for the upcoming games to be held in Asia by 5 July. She was quoted saying:
"The SA Under-23 team will be one of the final teams and individual athletes that SASCOC will be announcing this week. It could be Thursday or Friday because we have to submit our full team to represent South Africa at the Games before July 5."
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Source: Briefly News
