Bafana coach Hugo Broos excludes Burnley star Lyle Foster from his final Afcon squad

Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has excluded Burnley star attacker Lyle Foster from his squad for the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) from January 13 to February 11 in Ivory Coast. 

Broos picked 23 players, with the surprise inclusion of Terrence Mashego, Oswin Appollis, Evidence Makgopa, Jayden Adams and Thabang Monare, who have not been regulars in recent times. 

Broos also named Sibongiseni Mthethwa, Elias Mokwana and Thapelo Xoki on standby but they will stay in South Africa and only travel to the Ivory Coast if they are needed. 

Foster returned to the English Premier League for Burnley recently after he was put in the care of specialists to deal with mental health issues and as a result missed 10 matches for the Clarets. 

The mental health problem also forced the 23-year-old striker to pull out of Bafana's crucial 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers against Benin and Rwanda in November.   

When Foster was included in Bafana’s 50-man Afcon preliminary squad, Burnley coach Vincent Kompany sparked outrage when he said the attacker was not in a position to play at the tournament, but he has gone on to play for his club. 

It remains to be seen if he will continue to play for Burnley while Bafana are at Afcon. 

Broos largely went with tried and tested key players, including captain Ronwen Williams, Aubrey Modiba, Themba Zwane, Teboho Mokoena, Sphephelo Sithole, Mihali Mayambela and Percy Tau. 

Broos will miss key players on the attack with Lebo Mothiba injured, US-based Bongokuhle Hlongwane not having played competitive football recently and Foster not available.

Asked to comment on Foster’s unavailability, Broos said it was not his decision. 

“We have had a lot of contact with Burnley over the past few weeks and they said forget and it’s impossible, but I still selected him in the provisional squad. There is still a danger that there will be problems and I spoke to doctors at Burnley and they said it is impossible for him to play at Afcon,” said Broos.

“I was also surprised to see last week he played the game — it is not my decision but a medical decision. Foster wrote a letter to Safa saying he didn’t want to assist at Afcon. 

“I am not happy that he is not going to be there, but there is nothing I can do about it. I don’t understand the situation, but this is a medical decision and not mine. He still needs 24 hours and seven days help and we can’t do that at Afcon.

“They told me he was agitated when he was named in the provisional squad and those are not my words. I have it in writing. It is surprising for me, but Foster will not be with us at Afcon and I could not select him. The situation with Foster is complicated.” 

Bafana are in group E with Tunisia, Mali and Namibia and will be based in Korhogo in the northern part of the country.