Youngsters Urged To Shine To Make Banyanas Wafcon Squad

The South African senior womens football team has stepped up preparations for its Womens Africa Cup of Nations WAFCON title defence in Morocco later this year. Banyana Banyana will play two international friendlies against Lesotho in the coming weeks, with a new and experimental team.

Banyana Banyana assembled for camp on Monday, with training commencing in earnest on Tuesday despite the gloomy weather in Johannesburg this week. The camp is for the two warm-up matches against Lesotho.

But the bigger picture is to start preparations for the WAFCON in Morocco and also to add depth to the squad. And coach Desiree Ellis has appealed to the young players to make their mark in the matches against Lesotho.

"So, this is to add to the core group whether its now before WAFCON or after because we also have the 2026 world cup qualifier in October. After that its their final tournament so we are not just preparing, for now, we are also preparing for the future. I remember in 2018, Karabo and Sebolelo went to the under 17 world cup and couple of months later they were at the senior world cup that is the message that I said to these players that nothing is stopping you but you have to show us."

The players are also ready to heed the coachs call to prove themselves. Adrielle Mibe, who plays for the University of Johannesburg, says players want to stake their claim in the first team for WAFCON.