05 October 2022 – Banyana Banyana are getting acquainted with their surroundings in London ahead of the friendly international against Australia on Saturday, 8 October 2022.
The SASOL-sponsored South African senior women’s team arrived in the UK on Wednesday morning but will be without co-captain Refiloe Jane for the match after she was ruled out due to VISA complications. Coach Desiree Ellis has brought in Blackburn Rover’s Faith Nokuthula as a replacement.
The team had their first training session on Wednesday afternoon just hours after arrival in London and will continue with two more sessions on Thursday, and on Friday.
Goalkeeper Andile Dlamini was also forced to withdraw from the team due to a family bereavement. Linda Motlhalo, Jermaine Seoposenwe and Thato Letsoso are expected to join the squad on Thursday morning as the team continues with their preparations.
“Look, it was a long flight from South Africa and in the morning you could see that there was a lot of fatigue. We had to change the session a bit, just to make sure that they are fresher tomorrow,” Ellis told www.www.safa.net.
“Unfortunately due to visa complications, Fifi [Jane] is not available. Hildah arrived today and tomorrow we will have Linda Motlhalo, Jermaine and Thato Letsoso.
“We also brought in Faith Nokuthula to have a look at her. She is still in the process of getting her documentation sorted out, but we thought it was important to bring her in as we are in England.”