Da Gama's charges are in camp ahead of the eight-nation tournament which get underway in two weeks’ time in Senegal, where the top three teams will qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics.
South Africa warmed up with a 2-0 win over the Tanzania senior national team at Eldorado Park Stadium on Tuesday, and while Da Gama is pleased with the preparations, he bemoaned the lack of top-class opponents for his charges.
“I would have loved to go to West Africa; we haven’t played a West African team,” he says. “These are important things; preparations are important and the harder the preparations, the better for us.
“We have to play the likes Nigeria and Ivory Coast away, but it was not possible so we have made the best of the situation and we're looking forward this tournament.”
He concluded: “We're slowly getting there and we’re happy with how we're progressing.”