The South African Under-17 men’s national team will depart for Qatar today ahead of the FIFA World Cup. The South African Football Association (SAFA) finally released the squad on Wednesday night, with just four days before their first match. Vela Khumalo’s team is in Group A and will face Bolivia (3 November), hosts Qatar (6 November) and Italy (9 November). None of the teams in Group A were at the last U17 World Cup in 2023. The SA U17 coach,…

Premier Soccer League (PSL) referee Jelly Chavani is heading to Qatar for the FIFA U17 World Cup. Chavani, 29, will be the sole representative from South Africa among the match officials, which features 27 referees and 54 assistant referees. Chavani, who hails from the Limpopo province, is one of only four African referees for the finals, including Hamza El Fariq (Morocco), Tanguy Mebiame (Gabon) and Abdel Abdou Merife (Cameroon). More recently, Chavani has been officiating in the African Nations Championship…

South Africa’s U17 side Amajimbos has been drawn in Group A of the FIFA U17 World Cup. The draw was conducted in Doha, Qatar, on Sunday and the newly-expanded tournament will feature 48 teams. South Africa will face opposition from hosts Qatar, Italy and Bolivia in Group A. They will feature in the global showpiece for only the second time after their maiden appearance in 2015, which was hosted by Chile. This year’s tournament will run from 3 – 27…

For the first time in 10 years, South Africa’s U17 side, Amajimbos, has qualified for the FIFA World Cup to be hosted by Qatar later this year. Amajimbos’ maiden appearance at the global showpiece was at the 2015 FIFA U17 World Cup, which was hosted by Chile, where they were guided by Molefi Ntseki. They suffered a group stage exit. The current generation is thus the only second group to qualify for the World Cup. Amajimbos secured their place after…