Noordwyk teen joins Amajimbos camp ahead of Fifa U17 World Cup
With the Fifa U17 World Cup around the corner, South Africa’s Amajimbos are making their final push, and a young local star, Lunje Noqobo, could be part of the squad representing the nation in Qatar.
With the Fifa U17 World Cup in Qatar approaching in November, the South Africa U17 men’s national team, known as Amajimbos, will finally see some international action this weekend.
This will be their first match since qualifying from the last Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) tournament in Morocco.
South African Football Association (Safa) has confirmed that Amajimbos will face Malawi’s U17 national team in a friendly match on October 26. The game will be played as a curtain raiser to the Blantyre derby between FCB Nyasa Big Bullets and the Mighty Wanderers at the Kamuzu Stadium.
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Among the players hoping to make the squad is Lunje Noqobo, a Grade 10 learner from Noordwyk Secondary School, who has earned a call-up to the training camp.
Despite the excitement surrounding South Africa’s participation, Safa has expressed concerns about the lack of funding for junior national teams. This issue also affected the U20s, who recently competed in the Fifa U20 World Cup in Chile without any friendly matches for preparation.
Safa CEO Lydia Monyepao highlighted the funding challenges, stating, “Look at Morocco. During a Fifa international break, their senior team is in camp, their U17s are in camp, their U20s are in camp, and their U23s are in camp, all playing friendly matches because they have the funding for it.
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“Right now, we are a few steps behind in terms of funding to support these teams. Ideally, we want to prepare our teams to compete at that level.
However, we have struggled with funding, especially for the junior national teams, which depend on what the senior national teams generate. The funding we receive from other sources has been very limited.”
Amajimbos are scheduled to depart for Qatar on October 29, where they will represent South Africa on the world stage. Drawn in Group A, they will start their campaign against Bolivia on November 3, followed by matches against hosts Qatar on November 6 and Italy on November 9.
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