WAFCON 2026: South Africa Begins Preparations

WAFCON 2026: South Africa Begins Preparations

Sampson Adedeji

Banyana Banyana head coach Dr. Desiree Ellis says her team will leave no stone unturned as they gear up for their 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) qualifier against DR Congo in three months, BSNSports.com.ng reports.

South Africa finished a disappointing fourth at the 2024 WAFCON, failing to defend the crown they won in 2022.

Speaking on arrival from Morocco, Ellis avoided speculating about the team’s future, instead stressing the importance of the upcoming qualifier.

“We have to prepare for a qualifier in October,” Ellis said.

“WAFCON is going to be a very, very important qualifier. We saw DR Congo in the group with Zambia and Morocco — yes, they might have lost their first game 4-0, but they are a formidable team.”

She further recalled their previous encounter with DR Congo: “We played them last year in the qualifiers with a very young team because many of our players were unavailable.”