Baby Bafana's preparations have been far from ideal and they will leave much of their fortunes in Rabat to a wing and a prayer. The tournament gets under way on November 27 and continues until December 10.

Current situation

It would be a tragedy should the youngsters fail to qualify for the Olympics, not least after big brothers Bafana Bafana floundered in their 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

But warring between South African football organisations has had the effect of limiting the prospects of success, with squabbles between Safa and the PSL denying coach Shakes Mashaba a fairer shot at glory.

South Africa has not qualified for the Olympics since 2000, having missed out on Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 - often because clubs have refused to release players for national duty for debatable reasons.

But the bottom line is that the likes of Thulani Serero, Andile Jali, George Maluleka, Sameegh Doutie, Phumelele Bhengu, Gladwin Shitolo and Darren Keet might never get to experience the Olympics.

Just what does it mean to play in the Olympics?

Matthew Booth captained the team which stunned the Brazil team, containing the likes of Ronaldinho, Fabio Aurelio and Lucio at the Sydney Summer Olympics with a 3-1 score line.

This result even overshadowed the fact that Amaglug-glug failed to proceed to the next round.

Together with Moroka Swallows striker Siyabonga Nomvethe and Bidvest Wits skipper Stanton Fredericks, Booth relives the memories of the Sydney Summer Olympics and points out the benefits and the importance of playing in the games.

Matthew Booth

Booth, now with Ajax Cape Town, says playing in the Olympics helped enhance his game and better equip him for the rigours of European football and he hopes the boys qualify.

"The experience is immense and the feeling is incredible.

"It's a fantastic opportunity to represent your country," says Booth, who proceeded to trials at English Premiership side West Ham United afterwards.

"Your CV also gets enhanced. I think the current crop will lose out on a great opportunity. The Olympics are the second best only to the World Cup.

"A footballer can play three World Cups, but Olympics only come once in four years and that means the under-23s only get one chance.

"People tend to forget that we had a six-year plan back then, and it hasn't been replicated. Unfortunately we experienced similar problems in some qualifiers and 11 years on, they haven't been resolved," he says.

Siyabonga Nomvethe

One of the class of 2000, Nomvethe declares that it's "every player's wish to play in such a tournament".

"Playing in the Olympics has been a good experience," he says.

"It's also important in that it opens up opportunities for overseas transfers. Team scouts are always on the lookout for younger players and that's where talent is exposed.

He notes: "Not every player in their lifetime gets a chance to play in those games."

Stanton Fredericks

Fredericks, who also got a taste of the Olympics points out the career benefits of involvement in the Olympics.

"Playing in the Olympics puts you in good stead for almost the rest of your career. Scouts will be out there and that's one time you have to work harder as a player to impress.

"Playing in the Olympics changed my life. I went to Switzerland afterwards and my standard improved," he says.

Fredericks also maintains that participation in the Olympics process is in the interests of the country and of South African football.

"I don't want to get into politics, but it's important for us to qualify. The country benefits and when the young boys return, they mostly fall into the Bafana set-up," he says.

"We went through the same problem back then when we missed Benni (McCarthy) and Quinton (Fortune) for the qualifiers.

"But some of us in the team had played against Nicholas Anelka and Thierry Henry in the under-20 championships and so we'd already progressed.

"It will be tremendously sad for the Jalis, Vilakazis and Sereros not to go the Olympics. I just hope and pray they do qualify."