Absent South Africa coach Hugo Broos has been watching the nation's COSAFA Cup progress with "keen interest" from afar according to SAFA CEO Tebogo Motlanthe.
Broos (69) was appointed as Molefi Ntseki's successor for the Bafana Bafana job in May but is yet to take his spot in the dugout as he awaits a second vaccination jab in his native Belgium.
In his absence, and with assistant Helman Mkhalele forced into quarantine by Covid-19, Morena Ramoreboli has been responsible for managing the squad at the 2021 COSAFA Cup and has guided the team to back-to-back Group A victories of Botswana and eSwatini.
"I think it has been a great success for us as a country because we all know, most of the players who are here are getting their first feel for the national team," Motlanthe told the media ahead of Tuesday's match against Lesotho.
"It speaks to our general approach that is one of rebuilding and this COSAFA Cup is going to open doors to most of the players who have been knocking on the national team's door."
Motlanthe revealed that Broos has been watching all of South Africa's matches at the competition and that the national team's impressive form is cause for optimism ahead of the planned rebuilding of the squad under the Belgian tactician.
"Coach Hugo [Broos] has assured me that he is watching these games with keen interest so we will see opportunities opening in the senior national team for players who are here," he added.
"As the association, we are grateful to the club's who have released their players because they have afforded them the opportunity to be looked at closer."
"Of course, sometimes we judge players harshly because they are only given a chance when Bafana plays, the stage becomes too big.
"So now with COSAFA we are introducing them to our national team, and it broadens the [national pool] and you get a lot of people who you are looking at, as opposed to saying, 'when the Bafana Bafana squad is announced, so-and-so must be in'.
"So, now you are broadening that for the coach and it's further proof that this country has depth, that this country has talent and the fact that they're winning puts the cherry on top because nobody gave them a chance of winning.
"Everyone saw them as a make-shift squad, but they have come here with zeal and shown their hunger for success, so we are happy as the association."
Scroll through the gallery to see images from South Africa's recent victory over eSwatini
Motlanthe also shared his view that the COSAFA Cup was a good platform to assess the players who were on the verge of a senior call-up and prepare for the upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, where South Africa has been drawn alongside Ethiopia, Ghana and Zimbabwe.
"When coach Hugo took over, he said he thinks that we need to rebuild," the CEO added.
"I can quote him when he says, 'young to you may be 26, to me it might be a 30-year-old' so when we speak about rebuilding, we speak about giving players who are hungry, who want to see the country as successful, given a chance.
"Of course, we know coach Hugo is a fan of youth. We have seen him doing well in Cameroon with a young squad, and I would not call [this squad] make-shift. We got players who were available, and they are here, willing to play for their country and also knock on the national team door.
"But when we look at the bigger picture, we are starting a rebuilding phase. We had an ageing team and that is a fact, most of the players were ageing, and it gives a chance to the coach to refresh the team.
"The bigger picture is to build a competent team. Of course, we know a competent team will not get instant results, but we are hoping that tournaments like the COSAFA Cup prepare the team for the bigger picture, which is qualifying for the World Cup, which requires doing well in the qualifiers.
"We are playing with our peers from Zimbabwe and we have seen that Zimbabwe has brought their big guns like Ovidy Karuru... We have seen Zambia has also brought the likes of Kennedy Mweene and others, but still, they are not performing at the expected levels.
"So, it gives us a chance to gauge what we will be facing because, in the [World Cup] qualifiers, we have Zimbabwe, Ethiopia... so we expect to do well, and I think this gives the players an opportunity [ahead of the qualifiers]."