9 November 2018– President of the South African Football Association (SAFA) Dr Danny Jordaan joined Banyana Banyana for lunch at their team hotel and wished them the best of luck ahead of their travel to Ghana for the 2018 Africa Women Cup of Nations tournament scheduled for Ghana from 17 November to 1 December.
Desiree Ellis’ squad departs this evening for West Africa to continue preparations for the competition.
“You have three things going for you so far – from the reports I have seen and with so much going on ahead of the tournament, you are perhaps the best focused team, you also have the best balance with a lot of experience and youthfulness in your squad, and last, but not least, from the interviews I have heard you have the desire to do well. Go out there and deliver on your promise, which is to do well in the tournament. The Association is firmly behind you, and so is the country, so best of luck to all of you,” said Dr Jordaan.
Head coach Desiree Ellis assured the President that they carry out their mandate to the latter.
“The time is now. We have done a lot of talking now it’s time to walk the talk. We believe this is our time and we dare not fail as we have promised. We owe it to ourselves, to the Association, our proud sponsor Sasol and to the entire country to come back victorious – and that is not negotiable. Thank you for your visit President as it inspires us to do what we do best,” said Ellis.
Banyana Banyana will play a practice match against the host nation on Sunday, 11 November at the Accra Stadium – the venue for the final.
South Africa is in Group B alongside Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea and Zambia – and they open their campaign with a clash against the Super Falcons (Nigeria) on Sunday, 18 November in Cape Coast.
Kickoff is at 17h30 South Africa time (15h30 local time in Ghana).
BANYANA BANYANA FIXTURES:
Nigeria vs South Africa 15h30 (17h30) 18 Nov 2018 Cape Coast
Equatorial Guinea vs South Africa 18h30 (20h30) 21 Nov 2018 Cape Coast
South Africavs Zambia 16h00 (18h00) 24 Nov 2018 Accra Stadium