SOUTH Africa's under-20 squad have begun their preparations for next month's African Youth Championships in Senegal, which holds a potential ticket to the Fifa U20 World Cup in New Zealand later in the year.

Coach Thabo Senong arrived in Port Elizabeth at the start of the week with 21 players and was joined yesterday by six more for a week of intensive work.

"We are building a fitness base and also working on our tactical organisation," said the coach, who was one of the Bafana Bafana assistants at the recent African Nations Cup finals in Equatorial Guinea.

"We have to work hard at maximum concentration for the full 90 minutes.

"That's where Bafana were found wanting. It's an area we need to work more on.

"It demands a lot from the players, but it's going to be really important."

He is also worried about defending dead ball situations.

"At under-20 level the West African players are as big as the senior guys," he warned.

The U20 side will have a match against the U19s of Chippa United at the weekend before they move up north for the second part of their preparations next week.

They will spend six days on the artificial turf at the Nike Centre in Soweto.

In Senegal, Amajita play Ghana and Mali in Mbour on March 9 and 12 respectively and regional rivals Zambia in their final Group B game on March 15 in Dakar.