Bafana Bafana boss Molefi Ntseki is on a mission to recruit European-based players for the national team’s quest for Afcon 2021 glory.
Ntseki will travel to Europe after next month’s Afcon qualifiers against Ghana and Sudan to talk to three prospects with the hope of finalising their eligibility to play in the Gold and Green in the future.
Ahead of Afcon in June, then-coach Stuart Baxter had called up Nikola Tavares and Joel Untersee for the tournament.
But Safa ran out of time to get the paperwork done for Crystal Palace’s Cape-born Croatian youth team centreback Tavares and former Juventus rightback Untersee, who has turned out for various Swiss youth teams.
NO PAMPIERE: Joel Untersee, 25. Picture: Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix.
Ntseki also has his eye on 26-year-old Blackpool-born Preston North End striker Tom Barkhuizen, who qualifies for SA through his South African grandfather.
According to Soccer Laduma, acting CEO Russell Paul says: “Regarding those players - and more - we are currently working with Home Affairs and once the upcoming games are done, the coach will go over to Europe to meet with the players, take them through the process and bring their documents back.
“We don’t want the challenge of having them fill in the documents, then sending them to the embassy and then via courier to us.
“We don’t want to take that risk, so he [Ntseki] is going there and will hand carry their documents.”