Banyana Banyana’s struggles at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) have been blamed on inadequate preparation and a lack of support from the South African Football Association (Safa) and the wider country by former stars Portia Modise and Noko Matlou.
The 2022 champions are bottom of Group B with one point and must beat Burkina Faso in their final group match in Casablanca tonight at 22:00 South Africa time to keep their tournament alive.
Even victory may not be enough. Banyana Banyana also need Ivory Coast to defeat Tanzania if they are to reach the quarter-finals.
Modise, who scored more than 100 goals for South Africa, said the team’s disappointing campaign was a consequence of how the players had been treated rather than their ability on the pitch.
“I am not surprised to see Banyana struggling,” Modise told Sowetan. “We’ve been talking about this for many years; Banyana lacks support of the country. Banyana don’t get exposure, and that discourages the players.
“For me, Banyana’s struggles at this Wafcon have nothing to do with performances it’s about how they have been treated,” said Modise, who scored over 100 goals for Banyana.
“They are not motivated because they lack support from Safa and the whole country. You saw what happened with Bafana when they were going to the World Cup; the country was buzzing, but that didn’t happen with Banyana.”
South Africa have struggled to reproduce the form that helped them win their first Wafcon title in Morocco four years ago. They have conceded four goals at this year’s tournament and scored only twice.
Matlou, who played a key part in that 2022 triumph, believes the lack of competitive preparation before the tournament has also affected the team.
“What makes us struggle is that we didn’t play enough friendlies leading up to the tournament. We played our last friendly against Japan in June … I think we should have played two more just to get that momentum before the tournament,” Matlou said yesterday.
Despite the difficult circumstances, both former internationals remain confident that Banyana Banyana can produce the results required to progress.
“I think we will beat Burkina Faso, and Ivory Coast will win against Tanzania, so we should be okay,” Matlou said.
Modise also expects South Africa to overcome Burkina Faso and believes Tanzania will be unable to beat Ivory Coast.
“I have my fingers crossed that we qualify. We shouldn’t struggle to beat Burkina Faso, and Tanzania won’t beat Ivory Coast.”
The outcome of both Group B matches will determine whether the 2022 champions can move into the knockout stage or exit the competition at the group phase.
