Sport

At Wafcon, Banyana Banyana may reap rewards of this year’s suffering

Football analyst and former Banyana Banyana captain Simphiwe Dludlu at the 2024 Carling Black Label Cup media day in Johannesburg on 3 December 2024 (Photo: Nokwanda Zondi/BackpagePix)

By Yanga Sibembe

4 Dec 2024

As Banyana Banyana’s golden generation ages, the technical team has been seeking fresh talent.

It is not an exaggeration to say Banyana Banyana are at a crossroads. The core players of the team coach Desiree Ellis led to a historic maiden African title in 2022, and a memorable foray to the round of 16 at last year’s Fifa Women’s World Cup, are ageing.

What has become clear during the matches that South Africa’s senior women’s football side has played in 2024 is that these key players will be difficult to replace when the time comes for them to walk away from the national team.

For some it will be sooner than others. Someone like Noko Matlou, who is 38 years old, is already being phased out by Banyana Banyana’s technical team. The fact that the striker-turned-defender was a player that Ellis relied on heavily as recently as that historic World Cup in 2023 speaks volumes on the lack of successors.

Ageing squad

Matlou was the first South African to be crowned African women’s player of the year in 2008, while playing as a forward. She would later transition to centre back, a position where she formed an almost impenetrable defensive wall with Bambanani Mbane, who is one of the greatest South African defenders of all-time – man or woman.

Thirty-four-year-old Mbane’s playing career is also approaching its conclusion; although she might have a few more memories to offer the global football community before she retires from Banyana.

Other key players for Ellis during her eight years as coach include Thembi Kgatlana, Refiloe Jane, Hildah Magaia, Jermaine Seoposenwe, Lebohang Ramalepe, Kaylin Swart and Andile Dlamini. All are either over 30, or within touching distance of it.

Some of them are based internationally and will likely pull out of Banyana Banyana participation to lengthen their club careers, where they make most of their money, as women’s football struggles to establish itself as a professional sport across Africa.

From the players whom Ellis has called upon constantly in the recent past, only players such as Linda Motlhalo and Karabo Dhlamini still have a number of years to juggle international football and doing duty for their clubs. Someone like Nthabiseng Majiya has shown major promise, but is evidently still an unpolished gem.

This lack of depth and overreliance on the old heads were exposed during Banyana Banyana’s most four recent matches. They played Denmark and England in October, losing both matches.

Harsh lessons

Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis has difficult decisions to make for the team ahead of Wafcon 2025. (Photo: Muzi Ntombela / BackpagePix)

The team’s display against Denmark was particularly disappointing as they had an opportunity to assert themselves against a European side there for the taking. The match against South Africa in October was just the second in 2024 for the Danes. Prior to that they had last played in February.

Instead of earning a hard-fought victory, Banyana Banyana were smashed 5-0 on a great night for the Danes. The South Africans were without some of the aforementioned key players, and the auxiliary group that Ellis trusted struggled, particularly upfront.

Against European champions England, it was also defeat. But in that match, with some of the core players available to Ellis, Banyana Banyana were exceptional and could have even won the match if they had more composure in front of goal. Ultimately, they lost 2-1.

Most recently, South Africa travelled to Jamaica to play two friendlies with the Reggae Girlz. They lost both, going down 3-0 in the first and 3-2 in the second. Again, they had to do without most of their senior players, who were unavailable for various reasons. Ellis opted to blood a few young players who had impressed in the recent Cosafa Women’s Cup.

“We were better than the previous game, even though we brought a young team. We had nine players coming in since the Denmark-England tour, and seven started the first match and we made a couple of changes again for the second one,” Ellis reflected after the Jamaica games.

Necessary tests

Football analyst and former Banyana Banyana captain Simphiwe Dludlu at the 2024 Carling Black Label Cup media day in Johannesburg on 3 December 2024. (Photo: Nokwanda Zondi/BackpagePix)

Despite the challenges that came with Banyana Banyana playing three opponents who ranked higher than their 50th spot on the latest global rankings, football analyst and coach Simphiwe Dludlu believes it was important for South Africa to play these matches ahead of their title defence at the 2025 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon).

“You can’t drop the standard. We’ve come from the World Cup, where we played Sweden, Italy, Argentina, and we even went on to play the Netherlands in round of 16. You can’t go lower than that when you’re preparing for a tournament that will bring you back to the World Cup,” Dludlu told journalists at a Carling Black Label Cup event in Sandton.

“You have to play opposition that is highly ranked, to shock the system of the players. Because not all the players in that Banyana Banyana squad are playing professional soccer. So, when you shock them and introduce them to those levels, even when they are back at their clubs, they are able to demand more of themselves,” Dludlu said.

“Against Denmark we didn’t do so well. But the result showed us that when we don’t have a Thembi, or Jermaine or Hildah in our front three, the team struggles a bit. When we played against England, and those players were there, we could have even won that match,” former Banyana captain Dludlu said.

Dludlu also echoed the need for a professional women’s league in the country – something that Ellis and many other stakeholders have called for in the past. At the moment, it’s a juggling act for most women players in the country as they work/study and play football as a hobby essentially, despite the fact that they have invested so much into their personal growth in the sport.

“It’s not just a South African problem. It’s an African problem. We have to have professional leagues in each country to elevate the level of football. That will help compete with the rest of the world,” Dludlu said.

Banyana have been drawn against Ghana, Tanzania and Mali for next year’s Morocco-hosted Wafcon, which will take place from 5 to 26 July. DM

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Sport

Ageing squad

Harsh lessons

Necessary tests