21 February 2020 – The South African U-17 Women’s National Team (Bantwana), is in camp ahead of their opening fixture of the 2020 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup qualifiers.

Bantwana will face Zambia in the first leg of the first round on Friday, 28 February 2020 in Lusaka, Zambia.

This match will be played at Nkoloma Stadium.

Kickoff is scheduled for 15h00.

Head Coach Simphiwe Dludlu has called up 30 players for assessment before selecting the final 20 that will travel to Zambia.

“We are looking forward to a busy year, where we will be looking to qualify for our second consecutive FIFA World Cup, which will be hosted by India from 2 – 29 November 2020.  We have a long road ahead of us because we have to rebuild the squad, teach the players our methodology and ensure that they keep up to date with their schooling,” said Dludlu.

“We have managed to scout players that we believe can give us the results we want, and with a lot of hard work we have the ability to get the results away from home. We have 30 players called up and will assess their level of fitness, football abilities and their level of competitiveness in the first few days of camp. We have scheduled a practice match before trimming down the squad down to 20 players on Monday 24 February 2020, so we can then focus on our game plan against Zambia.”

Bantwana will travel to Lusaka on Wednesday, 26 February where they will have two training sessions before the big encounter of Friday (28 February 2020).

The team will then travel back to South Africa before assembling for the home leg on 7 March 2020.

The return leg will be played on Saturday, 14 March 2020.

Preliminary squad:

No. PLAYER’S NAME CLUB
GOALKEEPERS:
1. Karabo MOHALE High Performance Centre (Gauteng)
2. Zubenathi LIVI    Cape Town Roses (Western Cape)
3. Rosalie JAMES JVW (Gauteng)
DEFENDERS
4. Emihle HALLAM  High Performance Centre (Gauteng)
5. Shannon MACOMO High Performance Centre (Gauteng)
6. Ntateko NKHUNA Mams Ladies FC (Gauteng)
7. Shakira O’Malley High Performance Centre (Gauteng)
8. Hlela PHILISANI Dangerous Heroes (Western Cape)
9. Yolanda Nduli Sunflower WFC (KwaZulu Natal)
10. Taylor- Ann BERKOVIC JVW (Gauteng)
11. Thimna MPEHLE RV United (Western Cape)
MIDFIELDERS:
12. Jessica WADE JVW (Gauteng)
13. Nthabiseng MAJIYA   Green Lovers FC (Free Stae)
14. Tiffany KORTJIE Golden Stars  (Eastern Cape)
15. Nelly GAMEDE Coal City Wizards FC (Mpumalanga)
16. Tarryn JANUARY Shatterpruffe FC (Eastern Cape)
17. Nabeelah GALANT University of Cape Town (Western Cape)
18. Sonika MZINGELI Cape Town Roses FC (Western Cape)
29. Tiyana CAROLLESSEN Vasco Da Gama FC (Western Cape)
20. Aliyaah ALLIE JVW (Gauteng)
21. Lithemba SAM SAM Cape Town Roses FC (Western Cape)
22. Cimone SAULS JVW (Gauteng)
23. Snothisiwe JELE Football For Life Academy (KwaZulu Natal)
STRIKERS:
24. Christy NOBLE High Performance Centre  (Gauteng)
25. Inathi MAKAYA Thunderbirds F.C (Eastern Cape)
26. Oyisa MARHASI Eluhulwini FC (Eastern Cape)
27. Ronnel DONELLY Barcelona F.C (KwaZulu Natal)
28. Kananelo TAIWE Bloemfontein Celtic (Free State)
29. Palesa  MAKALOBA Kodisang F.C (Free State)
30. Lechia OLIVER Wits University FC (Gauteng)