Banyana Banyana’s preparations for the Fifa Women’s World Cup later in 2023 received a major boost after coach Desiree Ellis’ charges were confirmed as one of the participants in this month’s Turkish Women’s Cup.
The tournament will be held from February 13-23. Other nations that will take part include Slovenia, Uzbekistan, Venezuela and Zambia.
Sunday World reported at the weekend about SA Football Association’s (Safa) plans to get Banyana into the tournament after hopes of participating in the Cyprus Cup were dashed.
Ellis is happy that the Sasol-sponsored South African senior women’s team will face hosts Turkey on February 15, then tackle Uzbekistan three days later. Banyana will play their final match against Venezuela on February 21. All the matches will be played at the Gold City Sport Complex.
Ellis told the Safa website: “We are very excited to be going to the Turkish Cup. In our group at the Fifa Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, we have Sweden and Italy, who are European opposition, and then obviously we have Argentina, who are South American opposition.
“We are very excited and grateful that we will be playing against a European country [Turkey] in the Turkish Women’s Cup. We also play Uzbekistan, who are Asian, and then finally a South American opponent [Venezuela].”
Ellis added that she is pleased with the quality of opposition, as all the teams tick the boxes, as the countdown to the Fifa Women’s World Cup continues. The month-long World Cup will be staged from July 20 to August 20.
“So yes, it is a good start to our preparations and we want to also say thank you to the South African Football Association for their efforts to get us the opposition that we want in terms of European and South American sides.
“And also thank you to Sasol for their partnership and their support. We are really looking forward to the upcoming camp and to see what we still need to work on, and obviously to get ready for this big year that culminates in the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.”
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa. To Subscribe to Sunday World, click here.
