Dolly On Joining Bafana CHAN Squad: “I Couldn’t Say No”

Former Mamelodi Sundowns attacker Keagan Dolly says he didn’t hesitate when he received the call to join the Bafana Bafana CHAN team.

The CHAN tournament will be held in East Africa across three countries—Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda—between 2-30 August.

As part of their preparations, coach Molefi Ntseki’s squad played a behind-closed-doors training match against Angola at the Lucas Moripe Stadium on Tuesday morning, which ended in a 1-1 draw.

Dolly is currently without a club after being released by TS Galaxy at the end of last season. He joins a number of other unattached players in the squad, including Zakhele Lepasa, who was released by Orlando Pirates, and Neo Maema, who has no future with Sundowns.

“I couldn’t say no, and I didn’t even hesitate, you know, when the call-up came,” Dolly stated.

“Since Friday, the conversation [in the camp] is that we want to win it for ourselves as individuals and also for the country, you know, to make history. That’s what we’re doing. We’re focusing on now and just taking each day as it comes.

“I think this is our fourth day together, so I think we’re improving as a team and individuals. I’ll say it again, it’s always an honor and a privilege to wear these colors. You know, not a lot of people get the opportunity to represent their country, especially in a country that has many young boys who aspire to be professional footballers.”

He emphasized the significance of the opportunity: “Not a lot of people get this opportunity. So, when it came, I told you I didn’t hesitate. I always want to represent the country no matter the level, you know. I always want to be there and try to achieve as an individual and, you know, just be a part of a special group like this who has the opportunity now to create history also.”

Coach Ntseki on Squad Selection

The CHAN team has been in camp in Johannesburg since last week under the watchful eye of coach Molefi Ntseki.

The former Kaizer Chiefs coach acknowledged that selecting the squad for this tournament was challenging, but praised the commitment of the players currently in camp.

“It has always been a challenge to select [CHAN squads], and this has been the case from our first [qualifier] against Egypt [in March] and then the game against Malawi [in May],” Ntseki said, having been part of the CHAN qualifiers.

“But I think the players that were made available for selection are quality, and players that are very proud to be selected and to be part of this team.”

He further added, “You can tell from the attitude and the work rate of the players that we have had since we started with the qualifiers and the game we played today. We have got 15 players [in the team] that are unattached, but it is not because of a lack of quality from their side. There are many other reasons why these players are not attached, and these are good quality players. They’ve been in the league for more than five and ten seasons, so you can’t go wrong if ever you have these types of players that are part of the team going into CHAN. So, I am very, very impressed and very happy to have this group.”