Johannesburg - Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula has put his weight behind the South African under 23 squad heading to the CAF tournament in Morocco.
The tournament will be used as qualifiers for the 2012 London Olympic Games.
"We want these boys to go do their best and conquer. They are on the verge of making history ... I strongly believe that this team has the potential to conquer in Morocco. We wish them well and they must go and fight to win," he said.
Mbalula bid farewell to Amaglug-glug at their hotel room earlier today, they are expected to fly to the North African country later this evening.
"After interacting with the boys, I can tell you that they look hungry to make history and as a nation of course we want them to go and make us proud. They've got the support of the nation, all they need to do is to go there courageous and confident to win and I believe they are capable of doing that," he said.
South African Football Association (Safa) President, Kirsten Nematandani, said: "We want these boys to leave our shores with pride; we want them to understand that the entire nation is behind them."
The team will be participating in the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in Morocco from Saturday until December 10.
The tournament was initially scheduled to be played in Egypt, but it was moved following the on-going political uprising in that country.
A week ago, certain Premier Soccer League (PSL) teams refused to release their players, but following the Joint Liaison Committee comprising members of both Safa and the National Soccer League, it was agreed that coach Shakes Ephraim Mashaba and his technical team would get all the players they need.
PSL teams also agreed during their Board of Governors meeting to release the requested players and that PSL teams whose players were taking part in the tournament would have their games postponed.
No PSL games will be rescheduled because of prior commitments to sponsors and other partners, so postponing the matches would have caused unnecessary disruptions on their programme.
Mashaba, who thanked the PSL teams for releasing players to enable him to make up a 21-man strong squad, described the spirit at the camp as very high.
"From what I saw in our three training sessions, I can tell you that these boys are ready to face any team and emerge victorious; we have the best team right from the back to the strikers.
"We want to promise South Africans that we are committed to bring what they are expecting us to bring back for them."
Black Leopards striker Rodney Ramagalela said: "Everyone at the camp is willing to make the nation proud and I will not be goal-shy if I get an opportunity to play. I am in the squad to score goals."
Amaglug-glug and Orlando Pirates striker, Bongani Ndulula, will not be part of the team after he was injured during the two friendly matches the squad played in Algeria.
South Africa has been drawn in group B along with Gabon, Ivory Coast and Egypt. The Shakes Mashaba led-side will open their campaign with a match against Gabon on Saturday, November 26.
