Fourth place finish caps mixed Wafcon for Banyana
Desiree Ellis and her charges entered the tournament among the favourites, with high expectations to go the distance. However, the knockout stages proved to be a stumbling block for the defending champions.
It's now back to the drawing board for Ellis and her technical team after a campaign that exposed several shortcomings — from missed opportunities to defensive lapses that proved costly in crucial matches.
As the team looks ahead, they'll also do so without one of their most experienced players. Jermaine Seoposenwe, a key part of the national setup for more than a decade, played her final match for Banyana during this tournament and bows out of international football having left a lasting legacy.
Here are three key talking points from South Africa's WAFCON campaign:
Bright start in the Group stage
Banyana got their title defence off to a positive start with a 2-0 victory over Ghana in their opening game. While the scoreline reflected control, some defensive vulnerabilities began to show, hinting at issues that would later prove costly.
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IOL News
5 hours ago
- IOL News
Safa's failures caught up with Banyana at WAFCON
KWAAI: Jermaine Seoposenwe Retired Banyana Banyana Jermaine Seoposenwe revealed that they were on strike minutes before playing Ghana. | BackpagePix Image: Backpagepix THE South Sfrican Football Association (Safa) are as much to blame for Banyana Banyana's shortfalls at the recently concluded Women's Africa Cup of Nations tournament hosted in Morocco. Heading into what was their first title defence since winning the tournament in 2022, Banyana had to contend with unpaid fees from their preparation matches. These payments were not made on time, forcing the players to consider — and in some cases follow through with — match boycotts in order to get the association's attention. It is puzzling that in 2025, an organisation tasked with leading South African football still allows its national teams to be affected by administrative shortcomings. Banyana were knocked out in the semi-finals by Nigeria, who scored a late second-half goal to clinch the win (2-1) and a place in the final. The Super Falcons went on to lift the trophy, beating hosts Morocco 3–2 in a thrilling contest. Veteran midfielder Jermaine Seoposenwe who was playing her last tournament for her country after a career that lasted more than a decade, publicly addressed the difficulties the team faced behind the scenes, including a disrupted travel schedule before a key group match against Ghana. 'They (fans) don't know what is going on behind the scenes, how we are treated and suffering and how we constantly have to fight,' Seoposenwe said on Marawa Sports Worldwide. 'Before the Ghana game, the players were boycotting because we hadn't come to an agreement with the association. We were supposed to leave at 5:30 but left at 6pm, we got there at seven and kick-off was at 8pm. 'Why is that an issue? Why are we doing these things? Obviously the country expects us to go out to the field, but they don't know that we were literally sitting in the hotel room waiting for our association to come back to us.' Banyana finished fourth after losing their third/fourth place playoff match against Ghana and they have since been putting out fires; some of which they didn't start,. The association must take their share of blame with the disruption they caused leading up to the tournament.
TimesLIVE
18 hours ago
- TimesLIVE
Banyana's success has been stirring — it is not guaranteed to last
There are concerns that Banyana Banyana's successes of the last half-decade were a high point and the women's national team might battle to replicate such achievements in the near future. Their fourth placing at the Women's Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) in Morocco this month could be seen partly as a sign of a team in transition as new talent is blooded by coach Desiree Ellis and a hugely successful older generation begins steps towards its exit. It can also be read as a warning that a slow decline might be coming all too soon after the generation led by stars such as Thembi Kgatlana, Refiloe Jane, Hildah Magaia, Jermaine Seoposenwe took Banyana to their first Wafcon triumph, also in Morocco, in 2022 and notched the first progression past a World Cup group stage by a South African senior team in 2023. A fourth placing is no disgrace — defending a title can be difficult and women's football globally is improving in strides each year. It's the talent pipeline and factors affecting it that raise concern. There were some good young players fielded by Banyana in Morocco this month, products of Ellis' injection of talent over recent years, aware her senior stars will be moving on soon. Among emerging stars were Ronnel Donnelly, Tiisetso Makhubela, Amogelang Motau and Karabo Dhlamini. But there is a concern the new talent pool does not quite have the depth and genuine star quality of the one it is succeeding. [WATCH] Banyana Banyana have returned home from Morocco following a disappointing stint at the Women's Africa Cup of Nations. — SABC News (@SABCNews) July 28, 2025 Former Banyana coach Fran Hilton-Smith, the South African Football Association's former assistant and women's technical director who left those posts in 2021, and arguably the largest individual influence on the growth and success of Banyana, worries about these issues. Among these are that, while the launch from 2019 of the national women's Hollywoodbets Super League has been a notable positive development, it remains far from ideal and needs especially smaller teams to obtain sponsorships and for more players to be at least semi-professional. The women's academy established by Hilton-Smith at the high performance centre (HPC) at Pretoria University reduced its yearly intake for cost-cutting purposes when she left Safa. Then of course there is the bombshell ending of the hugely influential 16-year sponsorship of Banyana by Sasol. Safa has admitted it is battling to pull major sponsorships outside Banyana and Bafana Bafana, and serious questions are being raised about how the beleaguered association can find financial backers with embattled president Danny Jordaan at the helm while facing fraud charges. 'I think there needs to be introspection and rebuilding or restructuring for the Wafcon next year which is a World Cup qualifier,' Hilton-Smith told TimesLIVE Premium. 'The Hollywoodbets league and to some extent the Sasol [second tier] need some attention.' No cheers. No welcome. Just cameras and questions. Banyana deserved more than silence. Let's not only show up when there's a trophy. #RespectBanyana #WeSeeYou #QueensDeserveBetter — Sports Daily (@SportsDailyZA) July 28, 2025 There are some sponsored and well-funded sides in the Super League, such as the successful Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies, TS Galaxy and university teams that use their good institutional resources and well-run sides like high-punching JVW. 'But there's a big gap between the teams that are sponsored and structured and the others,' Hilton-Smith said. 'My point is we need to improve the level of competition [among the lower sides] to ensure the players who come through to Banyana are playing at a competitive level not far from the players based overseas. You need to have a balanced national team. We need to ensure the feeder system to Banyana is of a high standard. 'Even Sundowns, with their good coaching and structures, who pay players a decent amount and, like the men's team, have had continental success and provide the backbone of the national team, can be problematic. Like in men's football, Sundowns Ladies can hoover up top talent and then good players get benched.' Teams like Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates have partnered with women's amateur sides, which feels like window dressing for the purposes of meeting Confederation of African Football requirements. so the men's teams can compete continentally. If those giants had dedicated women's teams that would also improve the standard in the Super League. Hilton-Smith is also 'not sure how many senior players will be available for Banyana next year'. This especially since disillusion among senior stars continue to grow given their treatment by Safa. There were player strikes over bonuses and conditions ahead of the 2023 World Cup and, inexcusably given they were defending champions for the past Wafcon. Senior stars' body language and messages given between the lines of their actions and statements indicate they are fed up with flying the flag, at huge effort, then facing such lack of backing. Thembi Kgatlana withdrew from the Wafcon squad for personal reasons and was notably missed in Morocco. Jermaine Seoposenwe announced she intended to retire from the national side after the tournament. Hilton-Smith is concerned Safa has scaled back the academy at Tuks' HPS. 'Of the team that won Wafcon, 14 came from my high performance and 15 from the [2023] World Cup squad. 'Since I was retired, the intake at the HPC hasn't been at full capacity.' Hilton-Smith said she understands that the withdrawal of Sasol, also sponsors of the 144-team nationwide amateur effective second tier of women's club football, as Banyana sponsors is still not completely certain, and could be reversed if Safa meet 'certain conditions'. 'We can't lose Sasol if they decide to pull out because they've been the lifeblood of Banyana, without a doubt, and the league and the history. They have a branch in the US and it's because of that and the funding that Banyana played the US [the world's No 1 US team] in America more than once. 'That's where we need to be. So we hope they will reconsider.'
Eyewitness News
a day ago
- Eyewitness News
Banyana Banyana make low-key return to SA after WAFCON exit
JOHANNESBURG - The Banyana Banyana squad made a low-key return to the country following their disappointing showing at the Women's Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco. There were no adoring supporters or any of the fanfare normally associated with South African teams returning home from competing on the global stage. Only a handful of friends and family were present to welcome the players home on Monday night and were outnumbered by the media contingent that was at OR Tambo International Airport for the team's arrival. Banyana went to the tournament as the reigning champions but finished in fourth place after a heartbreaking 2-1 defeat to Nigeria in the semi-finals and a penalty shootout defeat against Ghana in the bronze medal match. While the players were visibly flat and despondent and made a quick exit from the arrivals terminal, Banyana coach, Desiree Ellis, faced questions from journalists about their campaign as well as her future with the national team. Ellis has been the subject of speculation since reports emerged before the tournament started that she had been working without a contract from SAFA for close to two years. There have been reports that Ellis would leave her position after WAFCON as well. She declined to comment on her current situation and what the next step for her would be. "I'm not going to comment. I've been taken out of context on numerous occasions and I think it's best I don't comment on that. Already, all over the media, what people are writing is not true. Certain things are not true. When people write, they must get the facts right, first of all. They write the wrong things. I'm not going to say anything, I'm saying 'No comment' purely because I don't want to be misquoted, because I've been badly misquoted during this tournament," said Ellis. Ellis did seem to indicate, however, that she did have her thoughts on the next tournament, which is the 2026 Women's AFCON, which will also be staged in Morocco. She said the first priority must be the qualifiers against DR Congo in October.
