Women’s Cup back on the calendar
Banyana urged to chart own history
When Confederation of Southern African Football Association (Cosafa) elected new leadership late last year, one of its promises was to revive women’s football in the region.
It is for this reason that, starting today in Bulawayo, the Cosafa Women’s Cup returns to the regional calendar after a six-year hiatus.
South Africa and Zimbabwe qualifying for the Olympic Games in Brazil last year scored a rare feat for Cosafa.
It is a no-brainer that the return edition is staged in Cosafa president Philip Chiyangwa’s home country.
This move is viewed by many as a reward for Chiyangwa, who spearheaded the fall of CAF’s longtime president Issa Hayatou early this year.
Although there are no obvious promotional signs of the tournament on the streets of Bulawayo – or the locals raving about it – the organisers still expect to achieve their objectives.
The 12-day tournament will serve as an ideal training ground in the build-up to the African Women’s Championship qualifiers.
Banyana open their campaign against Lesotho tomorrow (4.30pm). Banyana interim coach Desiree Ellis feels Cosafa provides an ideal stage for new players to build their own profiles. “People know about the Janines [van Wyk] and the Jermaines [Seoposenwe] of this team. So we have six new players in the team,” said Ellis.