Banyana Banyana head coach Dr Desiree Ellis has made an admission after selecting her final 26-woman squad ahead of the resumption of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations tournament.
Ellis named her final 26-member squad for the competition starting in Morocco next weekend, on Friday that included the return of some big names that missed the last edition and also new players in the senior side.
Striker Thembi Kgatlana is back in the fold after missing last year’s tournament due to personal reasons while Robyn Moodaly-Salgado is also back having last represented Banyana in 2023 and took a break. Ronnell Donnelly also made the team having missed most of the team’s recent camps.
Meanwhile it’s the first time Katlego Moletsane, Asanda Hade, Antonia Maponya, Isabella Ludwig, Khutso Pila and Zoe October are headed to the WAFCON. There were surprise omissions for Bonolo Mokoma and Shakira O’Malley.
Banyana are in Group B at the tournament which is also serves as a 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifier. The semi-finalists will represent Africa at the World Cup in Brazil next year.
South Africa starts the tournament against Tanzania on Monday, 27 July, then face Ivory Coast on 31 July and Burkina Faso who they close the group campaign against on August 4. All their group stage matches will be played at the Moulay Rachid Stadium in Casablanca.
Meanwhile, Ellis was quoted on Safa.com talking about the difficulty of naming the final team and the target of going to a third successive women’s World Cup.
“It is never easy choosing the squad for any tournament, but it is something that has to be done and unfortunately, we cannot take all the players with us, ” said Ellis.
“Bringing down the squad to 31 was very difficult, but even more so to come up with the final 26. We are satisfied with the selection we made, and we have complete faith that they will deliver on the mandate.
“A big thank you to SAFA and Sasol for backing this team all the way, gratitude also goes to all the other partners who are behind Sasol Banyana Banyana and not forgetting the millions of South African fans who have invested their emotions with Banyana Banyana.
“We have a nice mixture of youth and experience and that was key in making our selection because while we have immediate goals, we still need to look beyond the tournament and not be found wanting. We are under no illusion that this competition will be tough, but we believe we have a balanced squad and are well prepared for what lies ahead of us.
“The mission is clear, qualify for the World Cup and then we see how far we go. And that means the focus for now is the opening game against Tanzania as it will set the tone for the tournament. We also depart with the full knowledge of the weight of expectations from all South Africans and we promise not to disappoint.”
Banyana touched down in Morocco on Monday and have already undertaken their first of many training sessions ahead of their tournament opener against the Tanzanians.
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