Mokotjo arrives for Bafana friendlies
Kamohelo Mokotjo has reported for camp with Bafana Bafana despite doubts over whether he is still eligible to play for the national team.
Kamohelo Mokotjo during Bafana Bafana training. (Sabelo Mngoma/BackpagePix)
The Dutch-based midfielder was announced as part of the Bafana squad for friendly matches against Guinea-Bissau and Angola at the end of the month.
However, the 26 year-old took up citizenship of the Netherlands in December 2016, and would ordinarily have had to renounce his South African citizenship as a result, according to Dutch law.
READ: Safa still investigating Mokotjo issue
South African Football Association CEO Dennis Mumble on Friday told Phakaaathi that they were still looking into the matter of whether Mokotjo was eligible to play for Bafana.
“I am looking into that, the guys assured me he can still play, even though he took another nationality, but I am trying to get hold of team management,” Mumble told Phakaaathi.
“I expected the coach and management would have spoken to him [Mokotjo] before calling him up,” added Mumble.
Mokotjo also retired from international football in April 2016, stating lack of game time under former coach Shakes Mashaba as the reason for him to quit.
“We never retired him, which is the key thing. We are not done with players unless there are disciplinary issues. It is the coach’s prerogative [to select players] and the fact is that he [Mashaba] did call him but decided when he was going to play and when he was not, and it turned out the way it did. We have a different coach in place now, so that coach has the prerogative to choose the players he wants, there are no enemies of the association,” concluded Mumble.
READ: Mokotjo conundrum for Bafana caretaker coach
