08 May 2026 – South African U17 men’s national team coach Vela Khumalo has announced a squad of 21 players that will represent the country at the upcoming 2026 U17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) to be staged in Morocco from 13 May to 2 June.
The tournament is a qualifier for the 2026 FIFA U17 Men’s World Cup taking place in Qatar in November. Khumalo has selected the bulk of the players that won the COSAFA U17 Cup held in Zimbabwe in September last year.
“This is the same team that played COSAFA U17 Men’s Cup and won it. We have added a few players, about four, to beef up the team that we had before and also to rotate them. Remember the AFCON is an annual tournament and you bring in the younger ones too, and we also have some that went to the World Cup last year, so this is to balance the team as we are aware that there is again the COSAFA coming up later this year,” said Khumalo.
At the AFCON, Amajimbos have been drawn in Group D alongside Senegal, Ghana and Algeria. Sixteen nations will take part with the top 10 qualifying for the World Cup in Qatar. Khumalo is optimistic about their chances.
“What we have seen is that we stand a good chance, and we can get out of this group. We know that Senegal are a little bit physical and they are big, the same goes with Ghana. Algeria are more or less like us. We have done our analysis on all of them, and we think we can do well,” continued Khumalo.
“We have given ourselves a mandate that we want to do well and qualify for the World Cup. In addition, we said that going to the World Cup is not about getting out of the group stages, but we also want to see ourselves going further in the tournament.”
South Africa open their 2026 U17 Men’s AFCON account with a clash against Senegal on Thursday, 14 May, followed by the second fixture vs Algeria on Sunday, 17 May. In the last group stages match, Amajimbos will lock horns with Ghana on Wednesday, 20 May.
The semi-finals will take place on Thursday, 28 May while the final has been penciled in for Tuesday, 2 June, and will be preceded by the bronze medal clash.
Complex Mohammed VI will host all the matches, excluding the opening game, the two semi-finals and the final as these will be staged at the Moulay Hassan Stadium.
Amajimbos will depart for North Africa on Sunday.
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