Shamase and Sauls new faces in Banyana Banyana preliminary AWCON squad

University of Johannesburg’s Thubelihle Shamase and Cimone Sauls of JVW FC are the only two new faces in Banyana Banyana’s preliminary squad of 33 players for the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations scheduled for Morocco next month (2-23 July).

The pair will be hoping to be among the final 21 needed for the tournament in North Africa.

Shamase is a midfielder cum winger while Sauls plays as a wingback.

Portugal-based striker, Jermaine Seoposenwe, who is already back home for the off-season, makes a return to the squad and will be playing in her first match for Banyana Banyana since 2019.

She was picked for the Netherlands friendly but the fixture never materialised.

The four goalkeepers selected all come from the top four teams in the Hollywoodbets Super League – and one between Andile Dlamini (Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies), Kaylin Swart (JVW), Regirl Ngobeni (UWC) and Kebotseng Moletsane (Bloemfontein Celtic Ladies) could be dropped if head coach Desiree Ellis and her technical team opt for three persons in the gloves department.

The Sasol-sponsored Banyana Banyana will assemble for camp on Friday, 10 June 2022 in Johannesburg.

South Africa has been drawn in Group C alongside bitter rivals Nigeria, neighbours Botswana and East Africans Burundi – the latter two are making their debut in the AWCON tournament.

Banyana Banyana depart for Morocco on June 21 and face Nigeria’s Super Falcons on July 4 in their opening match of the campaign.

NAME AND SURNAME	POSITION	CLUB	PROVINCE
1. ANDILE DLAMINI	GK	MAMELODI SUNDOWNS FC	GAUTENG
2. KAYLIN SWART	GK	JVW FC	GAUTENG
3. REGIRL NGOBENI	GK	UNIVERSITY OF THE WESTERN CAPE	WESTERN CAPE
4. KEBOTSENG MOLETSANE	GK	BLOEMFONTEIN CELTIC	FREE STATE
5. KARABO DHLAMINI	DF	MAMELODI SUNDOWNS FC	GAUTENG
6. CIMONE SAULS	DF	JVW FC	GAUTENG
7. LEBOHANG RAMALEPE	DF	DINAMO MINSK	BELARUS
8. KOKETSO TLAILANE	DF	TSHWANE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY-PTA	GAUTENG
9. JANINE VAN WYK	DF	JVW FC	GAUTENG
10. TIISETSO MAKHUBELA	DF	MAMELODI SUNDOWNS FC	GAUTENG
11. BAMBANANI MBANE	DF	MAMELODI SUNDOWNS FC	GAUTENG
12. BONGEKA GAMEDE	DF	UNIVERSITY OF THE WESTERN CAPE	WESTERN CAPE
13.NOKO MATLOU	DF	SD EIBAR	SPAIN
14. LONATHEMBA MHLONGO	DF	UNIVERSITY OF THE WESTERN CAPE	WESTERN CAPE
15. REFILOE JANE	MF	AC MILAN	ITALY
16. MAMELLO MAKHABANE	MF	JVW FC	GAUTENG
17. NOMVULA KGOALE	MF	PARQUESDESOL CD	SPAIN
18. GABRIELA SALGADO	MF	JVW FC	GAUTENG
19. LINDA MOTLHALO	MF	DJUGARDENS	SWEDEN
20. THALEA SMIDT	MF	MAMELODI SUNDOWNS FC	GAUTENG
21. KHOLOSA BIYANA	MF	SPORTING GIJON	SPAIN
22. AMOGELANG MOTAU	MF	UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN CAPE	WESTERN CAPE
23. ROBYN MOODALY	MF	JVW FC	GAUTENG
24. SIBULELE HOLWENI	MF	UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN CAPE	WESTERN CAPE
25. THUBELIHLE SHAMASE	MF	UNIVERSITY OF JOHANNESBURG	GAUTENG
26. JERMAINE SEOPOSENWE	FW	SC BRAGA	PORTUGAL
27. MELINDA KGADIETE	FW	MAMELODI SUNDOWNS FC	GAUTENG
28. LELONA DAWETI	FW	MAMELODI SUNDOWNS FC	GAUTENG
29. NOXOLO CESANE	FW	UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN CAPE	WESTERN CAPE
30. NTHABISENG MAJIYA	FW	RICHMOND LADIES	NORTHERN CAPE
31. THEMBI KGATLANA	FW	ATHLETICO MADRID	SPAIN
32. HILDAH MAGAIA	FW	SEJONG SPORTSTOTO	SOUTH KOREA
33. REITUMETSE CHABANA	FW	TSHWANE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY -PTA	GAUTENG

By Matlhomola Morake