Banyana Banyana Head DR Desiree Ellis has announced a youthful preliminary squad for the upcoming international friendly matches against Lesotho, scheduled for February 22 and 25. The squad is composed primarily of young players, including several who have represented South Africa at the U-17 level, others currently playing in university structures, and a number of first-time senior national team call-ups.
Speaking at a press briefing in Johannesburg, DR Ellis highlighted the strategic decision to give young players a chance, emphasizing the need to build depth and expose emerging talent to the international stage. “It’s an opportunity for these players that played at COSAFA to be given an opportunity and players that we’ve seen in the league, that we have watched for a couple of years and the U-17 players that have done really, really well,” she said.
Some of the selected players have only featured at the COSAFA level and have not yet made their senior team debuts. DR Ellis acknowledged that this is a significant step for them and emphasised the importance of having a succession plan in place. “We have to make sure that when one steps out, another one steps in. Now we are looking at making the core group even bigger, we are also looking at the future after the 2024 AFCON which is being held now, there's a 2026 final qualifiers and then the WAFCON in 2026 to qualify for the World Cup in 2027, it's two-folds where we are looking at these young players,” she added.
Reflecting on Banyana Banyana's last international friendly against Jamaica in 2024, DR Ellis pointed out key lessons learned from that encounter. She stressed the importance of squad depth, managing different game situations, “We went with a very short squad to Jamaica, [we took] 21 players instead of 23 and we had late withdrawals and couldn't replace players. We had a couple of injuries then too and that has taught us a lot of lessons, that we need to be better prepared which we are starting to do now.”
The coach reiterated that while these friendlies against Lesotho serve as preparation for future competitions, they also offer an invaluable platform for talent identification and development. “This is the only window that we can have a look at players, going forward we will select our best squads and obviously the preparation camp in June to prepare for WAFCON.”
Coach Des also highlighted the opportunities of learning from the senior national team and how impactful the platform can be for players as they return to their clubs and youth structures. “I think that it’s really important to give them a taste of what it takes to be in the national team so that they can go back and motivate their teammates, not just at club level but also in the youth teams and say this is what we do at Banyana,” said the Coach.
“They can also understand the level that they need to be in whether they come back right now or they come back later. They can also understand that it's an opportunity for them to be able to see if they can step up, I think that's the most important thing and not just [younger players] them but all the other players. Some haven't played for the national team, some have played [only] at COSAFA so it's an opportunity for them to step up,” she concluded.
The final squad for the Lesotho friendlies will be announced closer to match day, following further assessment and training sessions. As South Africa continues to strengthen its women’s football structures
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