Former Mamelodi Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs ace Keagan Dolly cherishes the opportunity to represent SA in the African Nations Championship (Chan) tournament, insisting that he has always been honoured to play for national team, irrespective of levels of competitions.
Dolly, who's club-less after leaving TS Galaxy at the end of last season, is part of SA's Chan squad, mainly made up of unattached players. The Molefi Ntseki-coached side is pitted against Algerian, Guinea, Uganda and Niger in Group C of the upcoming Chan. The tournament will be co-hosted for the first time by three East African countries – Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda from Saturday to August 30.
It's always an honour and privilege to wear these colours [of national team]... not a lot of people get the opportunity to represent their country, especially in a country where many young boys aspire to be professional footballers.
— Keagan Dolly, former Mamelodi Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs ace
“I have always said since I started playing, being part of a national team, since Under-17, U-20, is always an honour. The opportunity came and I couldn't say no... I didn't hesitate when the call-up came,'' Dolly said.
“It's always an honour and privilege to wear these colours [of national team]... not a lot of people get the opportunity to represent their country, especially in a country where many young boys aspire to be professional footballers. No matter the level, I've always wanted to be there, so I am excited to be here and I am excited to be going to this tournament.”
Dolly also made it clear that their goal was to win Chan, dispelling the notion that this competition was just a platform for the unattached players to attract interest from potential employers.
“Since Friday, the conversation (among themselves as players) is that we want to win it for ourselves as individuals and also for the country to make history,'' Dolly emphasised.
“We all know that a lot of players here are unattached, don't have teams but I think once we start focusing on that, we're going to drift away from the goal. The goal is to win the Chan tournament and we are focused on that... whatever happens after that will happen.”
SA played a 1-all draw against Angola in a friendly on Tuesday in Tshwane. Ntseki's charges will face Algeria on August 8 in their Chan Group C opener at Mandela National Stadium in Kampala.
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