Hugo Broos Discloses Why He Named 23 Players in Bafana Bafana Squad for AFCON 2023 Instead of 27

• Hugo Broos has explained why he opted for 23 players in his AFCON squad instead of 27
• The Belgian coach is set to lead South Africa to the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time
• Bafana Bafana will start the tournament with a game against Mali on Tuesday, January 16

Belgian coach Hugo Broos has disclosed why he named 23 players in his Bafana Bafana squad for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast.

South Africa's 23-man squad for the competition was released on Thursday, with three players on standby.

South Africa's opponents in Group E, Tunisia, Namibia, and Mali, are set to bring 27 players to the competition, unlike Bafana Bafana.

In an interview after unveiling his squad, Broos explained why he didn't name 27 players in his team for the competition, according to a report by iDisikiTimes.

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"The 27 or 23 players is a matter of budget, so that is one. Secondly, I am not fond of taking 27 players with me [to competitions] to put four players in the stands every game," he said.

"I do not think it is good mentally for players, so you take 27, then you have more choices, but I have enough options with 23; I do not see why I should take more players to AFCON.

"Players know when you go with 27, the number 26 or 27 will never play."

Bafana Bafana will begin the competition against Mali at the Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium on Tuesday, January 16, before facing Namibia and Tunisia.

The 23-man squad will camp at the Stellenbosch Academy of Sport (SAS) High Performance Centre before the tournament.

Broos explains Foster's omission

Sports Brief reported when South Africa head coach Hugo Broos left Lyle Foster out of the final 23-man squad for the tournament set to kick off early next month.

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Foster was included in the 50-man provisional squad, and it was unlikely that he would be named in the final squad for Ivory Coast.

He missed seven Premier League games for Burnley for personal reasons and last month's World Cup qualifiers.