12 December 2022 – National Under-17 women’s team coach, Delisile Mbatha, says they have learnt a lot as individuals and as a group after winning the COSAFA Under-17 Championship in Malawi on Sunday, 11 December 2022.
Mbatha’s charges won the COSAFA Under-17 Championship after beating defending champions Zambia 4-3 in a seven-goal thriller in Lilongwe, Malawi.
The South African Under-17 women’s team coach says the whole experience has been a priceless education.
“Firstly, I would like to thank God, my family, the South African Football Association, SASCOC, the Under-17 ladies technical team and the players. The tournament was great, starting with the preparations, our travel to Malawi and our stay in Malawi. It was great and awesome,” Mbatha said.
“We learnt a lot as individuals and as a group. The girls were so amazing. They were very inquisitive, they listened attentively and they followed the instructions very well. We always encouraged them to add a bit of their own creativity. It was a wonderful group to work with.
“The experience I got from the tournament and all the lessons I learnt [were very important]. I learnt a lot from this tournament, from planning, communication, transparency and working with every member of the technical team. “
Mbatha said her young players can look forward to rewarding and exciting football careers after rising to the occasion in Malawi.
“It was wonderful to learn from this experience. I’m sure the girls are happy right now and they are looking forward to a lot of positive things in their careers.
“We’ve had a lot of positive stuff in our camp. So, we really appreciated the opportunity. It was a wonderful, wonderful event.”