All teams in the 2022 Hollywoodbets Super League have played no less than 10 matches, while a few more have gone on to 11 weeks of fixtures.
Reigning champions Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies remain the team to beat after ending the first phase before the FIFA international break on top of the log standings.
Banyana Ba Style are enjoying a four point lead following nine wins and just one loss.
They have scored a massive 46 goals in 10 matches – conceding only seven. This has taken them to 27 points.
The league is in recess due to the FIFA break, with the Sasol-sponsored Banyana Banyana travelling to Morocco for the 2022 Africa Women’s Cup of Nations taking place from 2-23 July.
Head coach of the South African Senior Women’s National Team, Desiree Ellis, has announced a preliminary squad of 33 players for the tournament – which still has to be trimmed down before their departure to North Africa.
The Brazilians have eight players in the current group, while goalkeeper Boseja Sedilame has joined AWCON debutants Botswana in camp.
The League resumes after the completion of the AWCON.
www.centrecircle.online rounded up the clubs to find out their plans during the FIFA break:
Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies: (1st on the table)
Jerry Tshabalala – Coach:
“This FIFA break came at the right time for us, and I think we needed it. Remember we started preparing this team as early as around the second week of January. When you look at our team and the number of players we have in the national team, it’s going to be good for us to have this kind of a break. We are a big brand and with the AWCON coming, it gives the technical team a good opportunity to go out there and scout for a few more players that we can bolster our team with – remember we will be representing South Africa at the COSAFA Club Championships (which lead to the CAF Women’s Champions League) so it will be very good for us to see if we can’t get one or two players from the AWCON. There are one or two players that we have seen from Nigeria, one is a centre back, and we will go check her out to see if we can’t bring her on board so she can help the team. But overall, this is a good break, a welcome one for the girls. They will go home, recharge their batteries and we will all come back very strong.”
UWC: (2nd)
Thinasonke Mbuli – Head Coach
“I am currently with the national team and we also have some players here at Banyana Banyana, but the bulk of the squad is back at base, so we have devised a training programme which they will follow until the 24th – it will not be the usual intense training sessions, but an exercise just to maintain the conditioning of the players. We will then give them a two-week break to recharge their batteries, and upon their return we start preparations for our first game after the recess – a clash against Ma-Indies Ladies.”
JVW: (3rd)
Mahama Musa Arthur – Coach
“The FIFA Break came just in time to rescue the growing number of injuries we have in our team. We are monitoring their progress to prepare them for the next round of the competition – the good news is that they are making good recovery. I believe we will come back stronger and continue our fight for the league title. We are a team that never gives up and will battle to the end. We don’t want to drop any more points in the remaining 20 games. I am glad we have some players in the national team, that’s good for the club – but as for those not selected we are continuing with our training.”
Thunderbirds Ladies: (7th)
Thembalethu Apleni – Coach
“As Thunderbirds we will not have a break. We have been focusing on training and more friendlies. The reason we cannot afford to stop or break is that we are going to lose momentum. Football is a very tricky sport – if you break and go on holiday you will lose that fitness and it is very difficult to get it back, while it is very easy to lose it. So, we will continue with our training and get some friendlies. We will be working and focusing on several things, like building the way we play as a team, what is needed in defense, in the middle and upfront. We will practice all those moves so that come beginning of August or end of July we are still on a good tune.”
Vasco da Gama: (13th)
Justin Tantaal – Stand-in Coach:
“We will not go on a break, we will have mini pre-season training and make use of the break to work on a few things which I feel we can improve on based on the matches we have played. It’s also an opportunity to look at adding some quality to the squad and bring in some experience to our squad to get the balance right.”
By Matlhomola Morake
