Lowveld lad to play for South Africa in 2021 u/17 Afcon tournament
Visa issues prevented Mikhenso playing in Afcon 2019
Lowveld-born Mikhenso Mbiga (16) has been selected for the South African u/17 soccer squad that will compete in the 2021 TOTAL u/17 African Cup of Nations (Afcon) tournament in Morocco.
The tournament will be played from March 13 to 30.
The head coach, Vela Khumalo, announced his final 21-man squad yesterday.
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The striker played in the Cosafa u/17 Cup in 2020 and has five caps for Amajimbos.
The South African u/17 team qualified for Afcon by winning the Cosafa Cup, defeating Zambia 4-2 on penalties on November 29, 2020. Mikhenso played in the match.
He was born in Thulamahashe, Bushbuckridge and attended St Marks International School in Mbombela from grades eight to 10.
He is completing his schooling in Pretoria and is on the books of Mamelodi Sundowns.
Mikhenso played for the Mpumalanga u/17 team in an interprovincial championship in KwaZulu-Natal in 2019 and his agent, Kuda Kasunzuma, tipped off Khumalo about the youngster’s exceptional ability with a football.
According to Kasunzuma, he was called up for a national training camp for the 2019 u/17 Afcon Championship. He was 15 years old.
He was not selected for the final squad because a visa could not be obtained for him in time.
This year, however, he will represent his country’s u/17 team on the biggest stage in Africa.
A 26-man South African u/17 national squad reported for camp at the Safa National Technical Centre in Johannesburg on February 26 to complete their preparations for Afcon.
The squad was trimmed down to 21 players yesterday.
Amajimbos have been drawn into group C of the tournament with West African opponents Cameroon, Senegal and Mali.
They will play their group matches in Casablanca.
The team will leave for Morocco today to continue with their preparations ahead of their opening match on March 15 against Mali. They will then face current Afcon champions, Cameroon, on March 18 and Senegal on March 21.
The entire team and support staff have been tested for Covid-19. On arrival in Morocco they will have to retest.
