Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis anticipates an unfriendly reception in Abuja when South Africa play against Nigeria in the last stage of the qualifiers for the women’s football event of the 2024 Paris Olympics, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
The Super Falcons are scheduled to compete against the Banyana in a series of two matches, with the first match planned for April 5 at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja and the second match on April 9 at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria.
Ellis’s team has become the favorites to secure one of the two spots from Africa following the recent match outcomes between the two nations.
Banyana have won four times out of their last five encounters against the Falcons, with their most recent meeting at the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco concluding 2-1 in favor of the South Africans.
Ahead of the highly-anticipated game between the two rivals, Ellis, who welcomed back four of her experienced players, expressed her happiness about having the players back as their experience will be crucial at the expected unfriendly reception in Nigeria.
“I’m pleased that we have these players back. That brings me joy and is motivating because they are our more experienced players and their expertise will be valuable in this situation,” she said.
“It might be unwelcoming and we are aware of the passionate nature of the Nigerian fans — we need that expertise to overcome this challenge.
“It will be a difficult match because they have not participated in the Olympics since 2008 and their team has altered somewhat since we last faced them (at the 2022 WAFCON).
“They are still one of the top teams on the continent. They have won numerous WAFCON titles (Nigeria have won 11 of 14 WAFCON titles) and have been consistently successful over the recent years. We are in the same category but we need to be consistent.”
The winners will join Brazil, Japan, and world champions Spain in Group C in the eight-team tournament in Paris in July and August.
Only five African nations (Nigeria, Cameroon, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Zambia) have participated in the women’s Olympic football tournament since it began in Atlanta in 1996.
