Banyana B determined to wrest back Cosafa champs crown

The Banyana Banyana developmental team taking part in the Cosafa Women’s Championship in Gqeberha are two wins away from regaining their title at the weekend.

Standing in their way are a physical Mozambique side in Thursday's semifinal at Wolfson Stadium (3pm).

The effective B side, coached by Banyana assistant Maude Khumalo and made up mostly of youthful prospects, are out to win the Cosafa title while head coach Desiree Ellis's senior combination take part in high-profile friendlies in Europe. The Banyana frontline side meet England in Coventry on Tuesday night (9.45pm) after losing 5-0 against Denmark in Aalborg on Friday.

Banyana B cruised into the semifinals after winning all their Cosafa group A fixtures, finishing top of the log with nine points from three matches.

They cemented top spot with an 8-1 win over a young Seychelles side at the Madibaz Stadium on Monday. Before that, Banyana beat Namibia 1-0  and Eswatini 3-0.

South Africa are record seven-time winners of the Cosafa Women’s Championship but last won the competition in 2020.

In 2023, Banyana failed to get past the group stages after losing 4-3 to Malawi in the last round-robin fixture to finish second in group A.

Khumalo said her players are aware of what is at stake and she was happy to see them score so many goals against Seychelles.

“When they get into the camp we set the standard that you must know why you are here when you wear that jersey to represent the national team,” she said.

“You forget where you come from, you represent the national team and the nation. This tournament is not a walk in the park. They might think Cosafa is just a light tournament, but when I look at the teams, they are improving every time they come here.

“I can make an example of Botswana. They used to struggle against us but now they are getting there. Maybe if we give the Seychelles a few years, we will see a difference. We need to be at least three steps ahead.”

The former U20 women’s national team coach said she already had a starting line-up in mind for their semifinal match against Mozambique.

“I have been checking group D since we started the tournament because I knew that the winner of group A would face the winner of group D. I know we are likely to play Mozambique, so it will be energy vs physicality and it will be energy plus creativity.

“Mozambique are very strong. They just sit at the back, it’s their game plan. It’s a tournament and they don’t want to concede. They just want to catch you on the counter. That is something that we are working on.

“As long as we don’t concede, we are still in the game.”

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