Chiefs without Bafana players

Johannesburg - Kaizer Chiefs will not have any of their Bafana Bafana players available for the Gauteng Football Cup final at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on July 21.

Chiefs' media officer Luthando Zibeko said Bafana players would not be considered for the squad because of Cosafa (Council of Southern Africa Football Associations) Cup commitments.

Bafana could potentially be involved in the final of the event on July 20.

"You don't want to overload all the players pre-season," Zibeko said on Wednesday.

"They will only start the pre-season [later] and will not start with the rest of the team."

Chiefs will play in the "final" against the winner of the Bloemfontein Celtic and University of Pretoria match in the pre-season one-day tournament.

The format has been cut from four teams to three. The organisers have not revealed the reason for this.

The "Gauteng" tournament will also feature a team outside Gauteng, with the participation of Celtic.

Chiefs have automatic entry to the final as defending champions after winning the inaugural event in 2012.

The prize money for the tournament is R500 000.