Banyana Banyana head coach Desiree Ellis is determined to lead her team to Olympic qualification next year.
South Africa last graced the Olympic stage in 2016 in Rio, Brazil, and now the team is hungry to reclaim their place at the world’s biggest sporting event.
Banyana Banyana have acclimatised well in Bloemfontein ahead of their two 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games qualifiers against Madagascar on Friday and Tuesday.
The 2022 African Champions arrived in the City of Roses on Monday to begin preparations for the all-important clashes set to be played at the Free State Stadium.
Madagascar will host the first match, as they have no suitable venue, and they are expected in the province on Wednesday.
The kickoff time for this encounter is 3pm, but no spectators are allowed at the request of the visiting team.
The SA women's senior football team have already held two training sessions since their arrival, with two more still to come to complete preparations for the first leg.
“We haven’t qualified for the last two Olympic Games. We got knocked out in the first round in 2019; we reached the final round against Nigeria and lost narrowly. It’s really important that we start getting to the Olympics," coach Ellis said.
"We qualified back-to-back in the past, and then you don’t qualify for two; we need to qualify for these global events because the newer players that come in, and the younger players that come in, will also gain a lot of experience through that.
"So, it’s really important that we get off on a good start on Friday to make sure that we get to the next round.”
Banyana Banyana are still in contention for World Cup qualification and will be playing in the Fifa Women’s World Cup play-offs next month. Dr Ellis says the Madagascar fixtures present a dual purpose for them.
“It’s not just about this game; it’s also about the game in November, so we’re using it two-fold because you have very little time to prepare and we know that it is a very big tournament as well that we need to prepare for.
"So we’ll be preparing for Madagascar but also looking at how we can get the team to be a better version of themselves come November."
Thembi Kgatlana (Mexico), Linda Motlhalo (Scotland), Bongeka Gamede (Denmark), and Hildah Magaia (Saudi Arabia) have already reported for national team duty, while Amogelang Motau (Mexico) was expected on Wednesday afternoon.
But Banyana Banyana will be without experienced defender Bambanani Mbane, who has returned home to continue with her injury rehabilitation.
The second leg will take place on Tuesday, also at the Free State Stadium.
