NALUMANGO CLEARED TO PLAY FOR SOUTH AFRICA

Former Zambia Under-17 and Under-20 defender Milimo Nalumango has been named in South Africa’s final 23-member squad for the CAF Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations COSAFA Qualifier starting Friday in Mozambique.

South Africa U20 head coach Raymond Mdaka confirmed that Nalumango has been cleared by FIFA and the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) to represent Amajita at the tournament.

Nalumango, who previously featured for Zambia at the Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations, is set to face his former country’s neighbours after earning a place in South Africa’s squad.

Mdaka said he was initially surprised when Nalumango joined the team because of his previous involvement with Zambia, but the coaching staff followed the required procedures after the player and his parents expressed an interest in him representing South Africa.

“I was shocked the day we came to the session. I felt it’s not the year because he played for Zambia,” Mdaka said.

He said Nalumango had already spent considerable time in South Africa and had established relationships with several players in the squad.

“The boy has been here for some time. It’s just that he has played for Zambia. He has been with most of the boys that are here,” he said.

Mdaka said the South African technical team then formally engaged the relevant authorities to ensure the player’s eligibility was properly addressed.

“But what we did, so that we are not caught on the wrong side, immediately the boy came and showed an interest, and the parents showed an interest, we decided to go professionally,” he said.

“So we went to the office to indicate that there is this situation. There is this boy, we want to do this. And we engaged with FIFA. They told us the processes. We followed the processes.”

According to Mdaka, FIFA subsequently engaged FAZ before the necessary clearance was granted.

“They engaged with Zambia until at long last they were able to allow us and at least the boy to be able to play for South Africa,” he said.

South Africa depart for Mozambique on Thursday ahead of the tournament, where they have been drawn against Lesotho, Angola and Eswatini in the group stages.

The tournament gets underway on Friday and will bring together 12 teams competing for regional honours and qualification opportunities under the CAF Under-20 AFCON/COSAFA competition.