WE’VE BECOME A LITTLE FAMILY-JOOSTE AHEADOF SA’s CHAN OPENNING MATCH

Wayde Jooste believes that the South African team that is representing the country in the CAF African Nations Championship (CHAN) has settled down and is now a unified group ahead of their opening match of the tournament on Friday.

Coach Molefi Ntseki’s charges open their account against Algeria on Friday afternoon and Jooste said the amount of time they have spent together in camp has helped build a strong spirit among the players.

“I don’t think it’s been that tough (to become a unified group), honestly, because the majority of us have played against each other in our respective leagues and some of us have actually been teammates in different clubs. So, I feel like the fact that we were together in (camp) in South Africa before coming to Uganda, it also helped us a bit to bond together as teammates,” he said.

“Most importantly, we’ve become a little family because, like I said, we’ve been together in South Africa and now that we are in Uganda, the bond within us just becomes stronger and stronger.”

Local observers have been curious about Ntseki’s charges since arriving here on Sunday afternoon and Jooste said they are happy to remain an unknown quantity until they take to the field for the first time on Friday.

“It’s a very good thing that we are an unknown quantity because they won’t know what to expect from us. So yeah, it’s a very good thing that they don’t really know much about us. It will count in our favour and it will be an advantage for us going into the group stages.”

The CHAN tournament is being held in East Africa in three countries – Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda – between 2-30 August 2025 and Ntseki’s charges are based in Kampala during the group stages of the tournament.