Mashaba wants a full-strength side

It will be Bafana Bafana's third meeting with the Indian Ocean islanders inside a year.

The date is allocated to international friendlies on the co-ordinated calendar by Fifa, and coach Ephraim Shakes Mashaba wants to use it for an outing of a full strength squad - including players from clubs in Europe.

Malagasy officials have confirmed they have accepted the invitation from Safa general secretary Albert Mokoena to play the match.

A venue has not been confirmed.

The match is the third game for Bafana Bafana before they resume their African Nations Cup qualifying campaign in June.

The South African national side play Jamaica in Cape Town on April 29 and then meet England in Durban in May.

In June and July they are up against Ivory Coast and Burundi in their last two Nations Cup matches, effectively needing to win both to qualify for the 2004 Nations Cup finals in Tunisia.

Last year South Africa beat Madagascar 1-0 in Durban in a World Cup warm-up and then narrowly edged the islanders in a penalty shootout in a Cosafa Castle Cup quarter-final tie played at Port Elizabeth.

Meanwhile Madagascar themselves beat Mauritius 2-1 in the opening match of this year's Cosafa Cup.