Banyana Banyana Ready To Get Wafcon Defence Underway Despite Challenges

Banyana Banyana are raring to go in Morocco as they’ve been preparing for the start of their Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) title defence.

Banyana arrived in Casablanca last week, but their preparations were initially halted after they staged a stay-in and put their tools down.

This is after the South African Football Association (SAFA) owed them money for the friendlies and Tri-Nations Series prior to the African showpiece.

Banyana Trains After Payment Saga

SAFA during their National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting last weekend said they had resolved that “minor issue” and the team would get back to training, as a result.

Whether the issue has been resolved remains a mystery, however, the team indeed returned to training in Casablanca this week as they went through their drills.

Midfielder Amogelang Motaung, speaking to Safa media team early in the week, said they were sharpening their mentality ahead of what will be a tough title defence.

“I think that’s the mentality that they [the coaches] are trying to instil in us - that we are coming to this tournament like we did in the last one - we are contenders,” Motau said.

“We are [going] to take it one game at a time. The focus is on ourselves, and the analysis team will do their part. They’ll inform us about the games, so we are good.”

Sasol’s Relationship With Banyana Expires

Banyana haven’t had it easy since arriving in Morocco. Earlier in the week, they also had to deal with the set-back of the expiry of their sponsor with petroleum magnates, Sasol.

But the Desiree Ellis coached team appear as though, they’ll not allow matters beyond their control to dampen their moods as they are also focused on acclimatising to the scorching heat of Morocco as well.

“The mood has been coming along great, but we are acclimatising to the heat, and everyone is coming to camp,” Motau said.

“We are getting the hang of it, and we are picking up on our rhythm. The second training had to be cut short today (Tuesday) because of the weather, but we are getting there.”

Banyana To Face Foes Ghana In The Opener

Banyana are in Group C for the continental event and will face Ghana in the opener on July 7, followed by the match against Tanzania on 11 July before playing Mali on July 14.

They will be based in Oujda for the group stage, with their clash against Ghana scheduled for Honor Stadium on Monday night (6pm kick-off).

Motau knows that the Black Queens will be tough customers, and that’s why they’ve already started profiling them ahead of their opening clash.

“Again, the focus is mainly on us and preparing for Ghana. We’ve been given an analysis on how they'll come at us,” Motau said.

‘We know that they are a physical team. They are ball players like us, so we are trying to find ways on how we are going to break them down. Things are coming together.”

Meanwhile, the first game of the event will be played on Saturday, July 5, as hosts Morocco will face Zambia at the Olympic Stadium in Rabat. Kick-off is scheduled for 10pm.

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