Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis has explained why she called up former captain Janine Van Wyk, who had left the previous camp under a cloud.
Van Wyk, who is just two appearances away from breaking Ahmed Hassan’s record of the most capped – men or women – player in Africa, was included in the squad for the recent Olympic qualifiers against DRC.
However, she left the camp clearly upset after not featuring in the first leg, which meant she couldn’t break the record in the second leg, with SAFA also announcing the defender would retire after those two games.
However, there seems to have some talks behind the scenes and Ellis named Van Wyk in her squad for the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Burkina Faso on 30 November and 4 December.
It offers the long-time Banyana captain another chance at breaking Hassan’s record, but she will have to feature in both matches, with Ellis explaining it would be a huge honour – not just for Van Wyk, but the whole of South Africa – if she did indeed became the most-capped African player.
“We will do our utmost best to get her those two caps,” said Ellis during the squad announcement.
“It’s not just a record for her. But I think it’s a record for women’s football in the country. It’s a record for SAFA. And a record for women’s football on the continent.
“And yes she was in the previous camp and I was asked the question by the media if ‘is there another opportunity?’ and I said ‘Burkina Faso’, and here is the opportunity.”
When asked whether there were any disciplinary talks with Van Wyk over how she left the camp and her conduct on social media, Ellis remained tightlipped but stated “it has been dealt with”.
“With SAFA as well, it has been dealt with and we leave it at that,” she added.
Van Wyk made her Banyana debut against Nigeria in 2005 and has since achieved many milestones. She’s taken part in two Olympic Games, captained Banyana at their first ever FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2019 and was also part of the side that won the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations – which was here eighth WAFCON.
But after the WAFCON success, Van Wyk had been left out of Ellis’ squads and also did not make the 2022 FIFA Women’s World Cup before returning to the selection against DRC.
