Banyana and Bantwana gearing up for Cosafa Cup
Both the South African women’s senior team and the Under-17 team have reported for a selection camp in Johannesburg as they prepare for the upcoming Cosafa Women’s Championships to be held in Port Elizabeth in November.
Ode Fulutudilu of South Africa celebrates goal with teammates during the 2019 COSAFA Women Championship match between South Africa and Madagascar on the 05 August 2019 at Wolfson Stadium, Port Elizabeth Pic Sydney Mahlangu/ BackpagePix
For coach Simphiwe Dludlu, this will be a chance for her charges to continue where they left off last year. Bantwana finished the competition on second place after losing the final 2-1 to visitors Uganda last year.
But, with the side meeting for the first time after months of individual training and no competitive football, Dludlu knows that it is going to be difficult.
“We last got together in March and with a number of new players in the squad for the first time. Getting everyone ready for the tournament in this short space of time will prove a bit tricky,” said Dludlu.
At the tournament, Bantwana will go up against Comoros, East African guest nation Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Meanwhile, Botswana had to withdraw from the tournament following the unavailability of their majority of players who are busy with exams.
With Botswana having pulled out, the competition will consist of only five teams for the Under-17 edition meaning there will only be one group with each team set play one another in a round-robin format.
On the other hand, coach Desiree Ellis’ Banyana squad have all reported to camp ahead of the final selection which will travel to PE in their quest to clinch their fourth Cosafa Cup tittle in a row.
The tournament will run from 3 November until 14 November 2020.
Groups for the senior tournament
Group A
South Africa
Eswatini
Comoros
Angola
Group B
Zambia
Malawi
Lesotho
Group C
Zimbabwe
Botswana
Tanzania
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