WeeklySA_AdminMENTAL ISSUES: Burnley United coach advises against Foster’s participation in Afcon 2024
By Sports Reporter
Burnley striker Lyle Foster is “making progress” but is “not in a position” to join South Africa for the Africa Cup of Nations, says manager Vincent Kompany.
Foster, 23, was named in a preliminary 50-man squad for the tournament, which begins in the Ivory Coast next month. He has been on a leave of absence since November 9 because of the recurrence of a mental health issue. “Physically he is in a good place and it seems like we have made progress,” Kompany told BBC Sport.
The club announced last month that Foster had reached out to the club for support and he has since been in the care of specialists. Foster has earned 14 caps for Bafana Bafana, scoring four goals, with three of those goals coming this year.
Asked if he was surprised at Foster’s inclusion in the South Africa squad by manager Hugo Broos, Kompany said: “Unfortunately at the moment he is not in a position where he can go to the national team. He just can’t. “It is not something he can do at the moment, going away for a long time and being in a very different environment.
“His love for his country has no limits and his desire to do well has no limits, but that would be going against the advice of every expert that has been assisting him in recent months.
“Conversations are ongoing but it is difficult for him to manage and for me because I am a coach of African origin. Afcon is very important. I feel very proud of any of our players representing us there because that tournament deserves the same importance as the Euros.
“For his conditions specifically, the human being that we have treated in the past month, he is not at a stage where he can do any of that. Hopefully in the future he can do much more for everybody on the big stage, but step by step.”
The Africa Cup of Nations starts on January 13, with the final taking place on February 11. Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos’ charges will assemble for camp on January 4 and then travel to Stellenbosch for a training camp that will be held in the Western Cape city until January 9, 2024.
Bafana Bafana will then play a training match against Lesotho behind closed doors at the Lucas Moripe Stadium in Atteridgeville before departing for Côte d’Ivoire on January 11.
The six groups are arranged as follows: Group A includes Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, and Guinea-Bissau. Group B consists of Egypt, Ghana, Cape Verde, and Mozambique. In Group C, Senegal, Cameroon, Guinea, and Gambia will lock horns. Group D features Algeria, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, and Angola. Tunisia, Mali, South Africa, and Namibia form Group E, while Group F comprises Morocco, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, and Tanzania.
As per the tournament rules, the top two teams from each group will progress to the knockout stage, adding another layer of excitement and anticipation to the group stage matches.
