In only their second appearance at the FIFA Women's World Cup, the South African senior women's national team made it past the group stage, which is an incredible feat considering this is the first Mzansi national side, male or female, senior or junior, to do so at a global showpiece. It is testament to the good work by coach Desiree Ellis, the dedication of her charges and not forgetting the support staff around her. This week, we get a current and former Banyana player to talk about the progress made and where to from here…
Football In Africa Has improved A Lot
On Banyana's participation in the FIFA Women's World Cup
There are lots of things we have learned from participating at the 2023 FIFA World Cup and if there is one thing nobody can take away from us, it's the valuable experience we have gained. We played against people who are competing in big leagues around the world, we played against players who are well-known all over the world and are also the legends of the game. There's so much you can learn from each and every player that participated at the tournament. Our team had so much experience coming to this Women's World Cup – I mean, we have players playing all over the world. Our success at the 2022 Women's Cup of Nations alone should speak volumes because everybody witnessed how great the team performance was in Morocco, so a lot of experience was gained there. We were drawn in a tough group with Sweden, Argentina and Italy – our group was tough. All the teams are ranked above us and we knew how good they are, but that didn't stop us from believing that we were capable of making it to the Round of 16. As much as we respected that they were good teams and could perform, we also didn't forget about ourselves because we're also a good team. We have great qualities as a group and individuals, so we knew that with all the hard work we had been putting in, we were going to achieve our goal.
On The Games Played
The first two matches, against Sweden and Argentina, were tough and demanded a lot from us. In the third match against Italy, both teams were at risk of going home and we all know nobody wants to leave the World Cup early, so both teams were fighting to stay. Unfortunately, only one team could make it from that game. Our game plan was to go there and play like it was our final match and we did that. We also had to stick to how we normally play, but the last 15 minutes of the game we changed to 3-5-2 because we wanted it more and the score was still 2-2. Fortunately, Thembi Kgatlana scored the third goal and we managed to go through to the knockout stages.
On Where To From Here
After this World Cup, I believe that most of our players will earn some contracts all over the world after this amazing performance from each and every one who's been involved since the first game. It was also amazing working with coach Desiree Ellies, someone who's been there before and can relate to the players' feelings. It was good to see African teams doing well. This Women's World Cup is full of surprises, so you will never know what to expect, all you can do is just go out there, do your best and let the Lord do the rest. There's no longer a thing called a big team or a small team, we're all the same now, we all use the same ball, same amount of players and the same rules. And football in Africa has improved a lot. Also, a lot of growth is being shown by these African teams in the global world. All the four African teams (South Africa, Zambia, Nigeria, Morocco) have players playing overseas, which played a big role in helping these players grow and be able to perform at a higher level. As for the future of our team, I believe this team is still going to do wonders and create more historical memories and not just for the national team. This is also a key to opening more doors forwomen sports in South Africa.
Karabo Dhlamini, Banyana Banyana defender
Even The Captain Of Italy Said…
On Banyana's Performances At The Tournament
The fact that Banyana Banyana managed to qualify for the Round of 16, that alone means a lot for us as South Africans and former footballers. While playing for Banyana, we tried so many times to qualify for the World Cup, but we couldn't do that, but the current generation made it possible. They qualified for World Cup twice and the second time as African champions. They showed the world what they are capable of doing. I commend our girls for the great performances from the first game against Sweden to the last match against the Netherlands. Unfortunately, we could only go as far as the Last 16. Going forward, I'm sure we will be able to fix where we didn't do well. In the match against the Netherlands, we were unfortunate to get two injuries on Jermaine Seoposenwe and Bambanani Mbane. The latter was doing well throughout the tournament marshalling our defence, and when she had that injury, it dismantled our defence. Seoposenwe couldn't carry on because of the knee injury and if it wasn't for those two injuries early in the first half, we could have played better. Having two substitutions being made so early on in the game disorientated the plan of the coach. Even though we lost the game, I still believe we did well.
On How We Can Improve Going Forward
People, some of our girls play in South Africa, where there is no professional league. They were competing against players from top European leagues who are playing in the UEFA Women's Champions League. If we can have a professional league, these girls can improve. Teams like Orlando Pirates, Kaizer Chiefs, Stellenbosch FC, SuperSport United and every DStv Premiership team that doesn't have a women's team must sit down with SAFA so that we can find a way for these teams to have women's teams. If we want to grow our women's football, we need some sort of a regulation for our professional teams to have a women's team. Even the captain of Italy said they were so surprised with our talent considering that we don't have a professional league. We need to develop our players from a very young age and every team needs to have a women's team. We've been talking about this for so many years. People are talking Banyana Banyana all over the world after this World Cup, can you imagine what was going to be said if we had a professional league in our country?
Khabo Zitha, Former Banyana Banyana striker
