Pretoria - The South African Development Team touched down safely in Sudan on Sunday for the 2nd Orange African Nations Championship (CHAN).
The continental show piece is scheduled to take place from 4 February to 25 February.
The South African team's first match is against Ghana on Saturday at 4.30pm (South African time) in Hilal. In the second match, South Africa will be up against Niger on 9 February, starting at 4.30pm also in Hilal.
The final group match will see South Africa take on neighbours Zimbabwe on Sunday, 13 February and kick-off for the clash is 7pm.
Head coach Simon Ngomane expressed satisfaction with the teams' arrival. "The weather conditions are not as terrible as initially thought, and in fact, they are almost similar to the ones back home. Our decision to hold camp in Mpumalanga, which was to acclimatise (players) to the hot weather conditions, will help a great deal during the tournament."
After the intensive training sessions and practice matches the team played in Nelspruit, Ngomane believed the team was physically and mentally ready for the task at hand.
The coach had to make last minute changes when Bloemfontein Celtic defender, Thato Mogakabe, could not travel with the team to Sudan, with Asaf Rantho of Mpumalanga Black Aces coming in as a replacement.
Rantho was one of the three players on standby after the technical team trimmed the side to 23 from 40 players.
Ngomane also thanked all the teams that released players to join the squad and get the opportunity to don their national colours and represent their country in Sudan.
"I want to thank all the teams who have been able to give us their players, even though some of them are fighting relegation or competing for promotion. What those teams have done is to give the players an opportunity to showcase their talents on a big stage by representing their country at this prestigious event.
"We want to assure the people of South Africa that we will not disappoint but will represent them well. We are going there to fight and we can only hope for positive results. All we can ask for is support from South Africans," he said.
The opening match of the tournament will be between hosts Sudan and Gabon in Khartoum on Friday at 7pm. The finals are scheduled for Merreikh.
