20 October 2022 – Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis has arrived in Australia and after spending a few hours in Sydney, she will proceed to her final destination in Auckland, New Zealand.

Ellis is travelling with Banyana Banyana team manager Lauren Duncan and Media Officer Sinethemba Mbatha and they will be attending the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup draw to be held in Auckland on Saturday 22 October 2022.

The reigning African champions will know the identity of the teams they will face in their group in the tournament to be jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand next year – from 20 July to 20 August 2023 – and the trio will be present to witness the occasion. SAFA President Dr Danny Jordaan is also attending the draw and will use the time in New Zealand to tell the attendees and many others around the globe about South Africa’s intention to bid to host the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup tournament

In their World Cup debut in 2019, the African Champions found themselves in a difficult group that had Germany, Spain and China, teams that were ranked in the top 15.

Ellis’ charges finished bottom of the Group B with three defeats from as many games. They only managed to score one goal, which came against Spain.

Returning to the tournament next year with a bit of experience under their belt, Ellis is hoping the draw will be much more favorable for the SASOL-sponsored BanyanaBanyana.

“The draw pots look tough, but we are hoping for a better draw than 2019. Back then in 2019 it was one team in the top 10 (Germany), and two teams (China and Spain) in the top 15. In essence we are hoping for a more favorable draw,” she said.

All the 2022 FIFA Women’s World Cup Draw updates will be posted on the SAFA website (www.www.safa.net) and Banyana Banyana Social Media pages.