Having defeated the defending champions Nigeria in their opening Group C match of the 2022 TotalEnergies Women’s Africa Cup of Nations currently underway in Morocco, the Sasol-sponsored Banyana Banyana have now shifted focus to their next opponents.
South Africa head coach Desiree Ellis believes facing Burundi, who are making their debut in the tournament, will be a more massive game than the one they played against Nigeria.
Banyana Banyana won 2-1 with goals from Jermaine Seoposenwe and Hilda Magaia.
Burundi qualified for the 2022 WAFCON after making the finals of the CECAFA Women’s Championship where they lost to hosts Uganda.
“We said we don’t want to underestimate any team and every game is a new game. From what we’ve seen they’ve played differently in most of their games so we have to be prepared if they change again and make sure that we get the three points. The first game was massive to get the three points, but I think is even bigger because it will almost get our foot into the quarterfinals,” said Ellis ahead of their clash with the East Africans.
The 2018 CAF Woman Coach of the Year adds that they have put the Nigeria result behind them on moved on to their next target.
“We celebrated a bit that evening because it as a huge result and we had worked hard for it. But immediately after that, the focus was on the next game because we wanted to stay focused for the task at hand. We put that outcome behind us and the next day we were already preparing for Burundi especially because thre is little time between the game,” added the Banyana Banyana mentor.
For the first time in the history of the WAFCON, there are three female coaches at the tournament – Ellis from South Africa, Gaoletlhoo Nkutlwisang of Botswana and Kai Tomety from Togo and South Africa’s Desiree Ellis.
“Our president Dr Jordan took his time early on and said that all our women’s teams U17 and U20 will be coached by female coaches. I think it’s up to the federations to create opportunities and making sure that whoever they put in that position is qualified and gets the support they need because that is important,” said Ellis.
“I can go to our CEO and speak to him on the level. At the end of the day it’s up to the federation who they want to put in charge – but you have to trust and that is a big thing. I am almost certain there are a lot of female coaches out there that’s looking for an opportunity in hopefully opportunities can be created for them.”
Banyana Banyana and Burundi face off on Thursday, 7 July at the Prince Heritier Moulay Al Hassan Stadium.
The top two teams and the two best runners up in the three groups will make up the quarterfinalists.
By Matlhomola Morake
