PORT ELIZABETH, September (ANA) - Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis has released Bloemfontein Celtic’s Melinda Kgadiete from her squad after she failed a fitness test ahead of the Cosafa Cup Women’s Championship starting in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday.
Kgadiete was one of the 20 players called up to the SA women’s team, but now Tiisetso Makhubela of Mamelodi Sundowns has taken her place – she was initially selected as part of the stand-by players.
“It is unfortunate that we had to send her [Kgadiete] back home because we found that she was not in the correct physical state for a tournament of this magnitude. It is a good thing we were able to detect this very early before the start of competition so we could effect changes,” said Ellis.
“At the end of the day it is all about the team, and we are hopeful this decision will push players to stay in perfect physical condition to be able to represent their nation as the demands of international games are much higher.”
Also released from the camp are the other three standby players – Siyamthanda Skeyi, Zanele Nhlapo and Salome Kekana.
“As we said when we announced the squad for the Cosafa Cup, the standby players will leave camp when the competition starts, and sadly that time has now arrived. The good thing is that they managed to keep fit and that is why it was not difficult for us to get a replacement for Kgadiete as Makhubela has been training with us here in Port Elizabeth,” added Ellis.
Makhubela is doubtful after she sustained a groin injury at training and will have a scan on Tuesday to determine the extent of the injury.
According to the rules of the competition, she can be replaced if deemed necessary, and this can only happen before the first match of the tournament.
Banyana is in Group A and will open their title defence against Madagascar on Wednesday at the Wolfson Stadium.
The South Africans will be without the USA-based trio of Janine van Wyk, Thembi Kgatlana and Linda Motlhalo for the clash, as they will only arrive in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday.
The three Houston Dash players were unable to join the camp at the start due to club commitments – they played their last league match this past weekend.
“We are looking forward to having them join us in camp, even though we are disappointed they will miss the opening match after a long flight from the USA. We will monitor them to see if they can feature in the second match of the tournament as their quality will play a key role in our aspirations to defend the title,” said Ellis.
South Africa next plays Botswana before rounding off their group stage fixtures against Malawi.
The tournament comes to an end on September 22.
- African News Agency (ANA
