Stand in Coach of the South African U17 Women’s National Team, Nthabeleng Modiko, has been putting a squad of 35 players through their paces since the start of their training camp on Monday, 15 January 2024.
This is in preparation for the upcoming two-legged FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup qualifiers against Ethiopia, with the first fixture set for Sunday, 4 February 2024 away at the Abebe Bekila Stadium in the capital, Addis Ababa.
The second leg will be played at the Lucas Moripe Stadium in Atteridgeville, Tshwane on Saturday, 10 January 2024.
Modiko has now trimmed the squad to 24 players who will do duty against Ethiopia – and this was after some intense training sessions.
“The first week of camp has been very good but also taxing for the girls as we had to regain fitness before anything else. We asked them to dig deep because we begin the year with very crucial matches, and we had to focus on fitness because it is never easy to being a training camp after the festive season,” Modiko told SAFA.net
“We demanded a lot from the players very early in the year, and they came to the party. Unfortunately, we must trim the squad as per tournament regulations and we had to look at different aspects when selecting the 24 players. It was crucial that we looked at players who firstly have international experience, as these qualifiers are very important for us. We are lucky that we began with most of these players when they were a bit younger, and although we missed out of the last World Cup in 2022, we will be able to build from there and do better this time round.”
The team is in the final stretch of preparations, and has slightly changed focus.
“We had to look at the pairing we needed to execute our game plan and of course, the levels of fitness, which was something we focused a lot on in the first week of camp. This week we are doing a lot of tactical work and match simulation ahead of our departure to Ethiopia,” added Modiko.
With the schools having just reopened in 2024, the youngsters will not be left behind.
“We have a tutor in camp to ensure that players are not only focused on football, but also mentally get back into the classroom, as they are at a critical age of their education.”
The South Africans are expected to depart for Addis Ababa on Wednesday, 31 January and will be hoping the training camp as well as the two friendly matches they played last year against Morocco will be enough to see them through to the fourth and final round – to be played in June – where either DR Congo or Kenya lies in wait.
Only three countries will represent the African continent in the Dominican Republic, with the tournament scheduled to be played from 16 October to 3 November this year.
Sixteen teams, including the hosts, will be participate in the competition.
Spain are the defending champions.
South Africa will be attempting to qualify for their third U17 FIFA Women’s World Cup after their first appearance in Trinidad and Tobago back in 2010, and eight years later (2018) in Uruguay under coaches Solly Luvhengo and Simphiwe Dludlu respectively.
Champions
2008: DPR Korea
2010: Korea Republic
2012: France
2014: Japan
2016: DPR Korea
2018: Spain
2022: Spain
SA U17 WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM VS ETHIOPIA:
| NAME | POSITION | CLUB |
| Bilquees SALIE | GOALKEEPERS: | SAFA Academy (Gauteng) |
| Mbali NDLOVU | SAFA Academy (Gauteng) | |
| Casey GORDAN | JVW Academy (Gauteng) | |
| Bonolo MOKOMA | DEFENDERS: | JVW Academy (Gauteng) |
| Bonolo PHOSHOKO | SAFA Academy (Gauteng) | |
| Nomfundo MOTAUNG | Springs Home Sweepers (Gauteng) | |
| Sethabile KAMWANDA | Mamelodi Sundowns Academy (Gauteng) | |
| Aphelele MHLONGO | Dlala Ntombazana (KZN) | |
| Masabata MOTHAPO | Ixias FC (Free State) | |
| Samkelo GWAMANDA | Dlala Ntombazana (KZN) | |
| Katleho MOHALE | JVW Academy (Gauteng) | |
| Mpho NKADIMENG | MIDFIELDERS: | SAFA Academy (Gauteng) |
| Lindelwa MABUZA | Mamelodi Sundowns Academy (Gauteng) | |
| Zoe OCTOBER | Cape Town Spurs (Western Cape) | |
| Nobahle MDELWA | LaLiga Academy (Spain) | |
| Nomaswazi VILAKAZI | University of Pretoria (Gauteng) | |
| Julia GONCALVES | JVW Academy (Gauteng) | |
| Katleho MALEBANA | Mamelodi Sundowns Academy (Gauteng) | |
| Luthando RADEBE | Durban Ladies (KZN) | |
| Khutso MOGANO | FORWARDS: | SAFA Academy (Gauteng) |
| Tshepi MAKOLE | Copperbelt Ladies (Limpopo) | |
| Adrielle MIBE | University of Johannesburg (Gauteng) | |
| Gugu MABITSELA | Mamelodi Sundowns Academy (Gauteng) | |
| Khwezi KHOZA | Sunflower WFC (KZN) |
By Matlhomola Morake
