Carlos Alberto Parreira (File)

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Johannesburg - Bafana Bafana will kick off their post World Cup draw preparations with two friendly matches in Durban during a two-week camp from January 15 to 28.

Only Premier Soccer League based players will be in attendance before the rest of the squad joins up for camps in Brazil and Germany.

Carlos Alberto Parreira's side will play up to six official matches as well as 10 training matches both locally and abroad.

Bafana team manager Sipho Nkumane said: "We are still finalising the details but we have planned two friendly games against southern African countries to help us get ready for June."

The national side will then head to Rio de Janeiro in March and Germany in April where Parreira will attempt to take as many as his overseas-based stars as possible. But clubs are not obliged to release players as the camps fall outside of FIFA dates.

With Blackburn Rovers pair Benni McCarthy and Elrio van Heerden and Portsmouth's Aaron Mokoena struggling for game time, Parreira will hope their clubs agree to release them.

Everton midfielder Steven Pienaar on the other hand, who plays week in week out for his club, is more of a doubt.

"We are hoping clubs such as Blackburn and Portsmouth will release their players while we are not holding our breath for Pienaar, but that is not a worry as Pienaar is world class and plays week in and out for Everton.

"It would be a bonus getting any of those players released for the camps (in Brazil and Germany)."

Bafana had friendly games scheduled against Paraguay and Uruguay in March during their camp in Brazil, but due to the fact that Uruguay are in Bafana's group during the 2010 World Cup group stages, that friendly has been cancelled.

"We are looking for a replacement for Uruguay and should come up with a name soon," Nkumane concluded.