Mdaka backs Amajita to compete without Mbokazi

RAYMOND Mdaka is disappointed that he'll be without one of his talismans for the upcoming Africa Youth Championships, but he says the show must go on.

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Coach Mdaka will guide his SA U20 men's national team - Amajita - in the youth Afcon which is scheduled to kick-off in Egypt on Sunday.

Amajita have to be at their best in north Africa as the event will also serve as a qualification for the U20 World Cup which will be hosted in Chile later this year.

But before they can dream about qualifying for the global showpiece for the first time since 2019 under coach Thabo Senong, they need to do well in the group stages in the land of the pharaohs.

Amajita are in Group A alongside hosts Egypt, Cosafa neighbours Zambia, west Africans Sierra Leone and east Africans Tanzania.

Their group stage campaign won't be easy as each team will play an extra game in the group due to the rescheduling of the tournament from Ivory Coast to Egypt recently.