The Sasol-sponsored Banyana Banyana assemble for camp on Sunday, 12 February 2023 in Johannesburg for the Turkish Women’s Cup, but there are still doubts about whether the tournament will go ahead or not, or also if South Africa is travelling or not.
Zambia is in the same boat as they also have announced their final squad, but not travel details. The Turkish Women’s Cup has been scheduled to take place from 13-23 February in Alanya, Turkey.
There are two days left before the start of competition, and with both national teams still in their countries, it raises further doubt if they will travel or not.
Should they proceed to Turkey, the dates will then have to be reworked to accommodate them.
Twelve teams are taking part in the tournament, Bulgaria, Estonia, Kosovo, Hong Kong, Jordan, North Macedonia, Slovenia, South Africa, Venezuela, Uzbekistan, Zambia as well as hosts Turkey.
At time of writing, 24-thousand people had lost their lives following an earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria on Monday morning (6 February), with thousands more still missing.
In a statement released on Saturday (11 February), the South African Football Association (SAFA), said that there was still no final decision on Banyana Banyana’s participation in the tournament.
“The South African Football Association (SAFA) wishes to state that no final decision has been taken on Banyana Banyana’s participation in this month’s Turkish Women’s Cup. SAFA has consulted widely on this important matter following the devastating earthquake that left thousands dead and many more injured or missing in Turkey and neighbouring Syria a few days ago,” read part of the statement.
“While the tournament is going ahead, the safety of our players and officials is very important to us and SAFA has continued to carry out its mandate in a mature and responsible manner. We have engaged extensively and had discussions with the Director for Member Associations, in particular the European MA manager. We engaged our own government as well as the Turkish Ambassador. We consulted the organisers of the Turkish Women’s Cup a number of times and also had discussions with Zambia, who are our neighbours and one of the participants in the Turkish Women’s Cup. All this feedback will be given to the team in camp, and a final decision on whether to travel to Turkey or not will be announced,” concluded the statement.
PARTICIPATING TEAMS AT THE TURKISH WOMEN’S CUP
| Team | App | FIFA ranking December 2022 |
| 2nd | 92 | |
| 1st | 91 | |
| 2nd | 77 | |
| 3rd | 69 | |
| 3rd | 111 | |
| 1st | 131 | |
| 1st | 43 | |
| 1st | 54 | |
| 2nd | 64 | |
| 4th | 49 | |
| 2nd | 52 | |
| 1st | 81 |
SAFA adds that the world governing body, in a letter sent to all participating teams on Friday (10 February), gave the green light for the tournament.
“In accordance with article 7 of the regulations, FIFA is happy to provide official authorization for this women’s tier 1 international tournament. Should you need to make any subsequent changes to the match details, please immediately contact FIMA,” read part of the letter from FIFA.
The Turkish Women’s Cup is being used for preparations for the upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup to be held in Australia and New Zealand from 20 July to 20 August.At the World Cup, South Africa is in Group G alongside Sweden, Italy and Argentina, while Zambia was drawn in Group C with Japan, Spain and Costa Rica.
FWWC GROUP G FIXTURES
| July 23 | Sweden vs. South Africa |
| July 24 | Italy vs. Argentina |
| July 28 | Argentina vs. South Africa |
| July 29 | Sweden vs. Italy |
| Aug 2 | Argentina vs. Sweden |
| Aug 2 | South Africa vs. Italy |
FWWC GROUP C FIXTURES
| July 21 | Spain vs. Costa Rica |
| July 22 | Zambia vs. Japan |
| July 26 | Spain vs. Zambia |
| July 26 | Japan vs. Costa Rica |
| July 31 | Japan vs. Spain |
| July 31 | Costa Rica vs, Zambia |
By Matlhomola Morake
