Kickoff (Cape Town)
5 January 2009
Amajita's preparations for the African Youth Championships - kicking off in Rwanda in under a fortnight - face a major crisis with almost half the squad called up not reporting to camp after their respective clubs refused to release them.
The Caf Youth Championships fall outside the Fifa calendar and so clubs are not obliged to release players.
The players who haven't reported for camp are attached to professional clubs SuperSport United, Moroka Swallows, Ajax Cape Town and Feyenoord of Holland where key striker Kermit Erasmus plays.
Players that Ajax are not releasing are Sameehg Doutie and Thulani Serero, while Swallows are reluctant to part ways with Phumelele Bhengu and Ramahlwe Mphahlele.
SuperSport are not keen to release Kamohelo Mokotjo, Masibusane Zongo and Philani Khwela.
Worsening the situation is that all these players being refused permission to join camp by their clubs are regulars in the teenage squad.
Winston Marumo - the Amajita team manager - sounded disappointed though, saying they were entering the negotiation route with the clubs concerned.
"Not all players are in camp because clubs are saying they will not be releasing the players, they have already written us letters to that effect.
"Right now we are still engaging these clubs in the hope that they release the boys and that they will join us by the time we leave on Sunday.
"At the moment - into our second day in camp - we have about 10 players (out of 18 called up) but we are hoping for the best. We are in a difficult situation because the plan was to work with the boys that we had called up.
"We now just have to engage these clubs for these boys as we really want to have them and haven't set a plan B," says Marumo.
The Serame Letsoaka-coached team will spend five days in Kenya before heading off to Rwanda where they face Ivory Coast in their Group B opener in two weeks.
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