Head coach of the women's U17 National team Bantwana Simphiwe Dludlu has explained the reason behind the early camp as the team prepares for the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup to be staged later this year.
Bantwana are currently preparing to compete in the BRICS Tournament, which will played on local shores where the likes of Brazil, Russia, India and China will compete over the week-long tournament.
The former Banyana skipper guided Bantwana to a berth in the World Cup back in February after beating Morocco 6-1 on aggregate in both the home and away qualifiers.
"We're back in camp and preparing the girls. It's always good to be in camp as players tend to forget when they are away," said Dludlu to the Siya crew.
"As the coaches we try to get them at every opportunity we can, because they have school so it's important that we have these camps so we can evaluate where they are mentally. The World Cup this year is the biggest stage for the players so we have to make sure that they are ready to play against other countries."
The BRICS Tournament will give us a feel of playing international countries. Some of these countries we will play against in the World Cup so this is a perfect platform to prepare our players," she added.
"It's been a long road since our qualifiers. The camp will be good in ensuring that our players keep their unity and team morale on a high. We have included a few new faces and this is to send out a message that we will be looking at everyone as we prepare for the World Cup," she added.
"Those players who have not been selected for this specific camp should not despair. We still have a few more camps before a preliminary squad is finalised," concluded the Bantwana mentor.
The U-17s have already reported at camp where they will undergo a rigorous physical programme under Dludlu. The BRICS Tournament begins on the 15 July 2018 until the 23rd of July 2018.
Meanwhile, the 2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup will be staged in Uruguay from 13 December 2018 till 1 December 2018.
South Africa has been drawn in Group B alongside Brazil, Japan and Mexico.
