The
South African Senior Women’s National Team (Banyana Banyana) will be out to
prove that they have shaken the nerves of the first match and show that they
are not just in London to make up the numbers. Banyana Banyana faces Canada in
their second Olympic Group F fixture in Coventry on Saturday, 28 July 2012.
Kickoff
is at 14h45 (15h45 South African time).
While
nerves may have got the better of the South Africans in the first 30 minutes of
their opening encounter in their 4-1 defeat to Sweden earlier this week
(Wednesday, 25 July), captain Amanda Dlamini’s charges must now have settled
into the Olympic mode, and need a win to keep alive their hopes of a place in
the next round.
Banyana
Banyana’s final group fixture will be against FIFA World Cup champions Japan on
Tuesday, 31 July in Cardiff. The Canadians will be just as anxious to secure
points, having gone down 2-1 to Japan in their opening Olympic Group F fixture.
“We
have seen a bit of Canada in action when we participated at the Cyprus Women’s
Cup in February this year and have an idea of what to expect,” said Banyana
Banyana captain and midfielder Amanda Dlamini.
“The
nerves of the first match are now behind us and we hope to do our country proud
when we face Canada on Saturday. It’s a great experience for South Africa to
play at this level of women’s football, being the first time that our senior
women’s national team has qualified for the Olympics since our team was formed
in 1993.”
The
South Africans have had a solid build up phase to the Olympics since outplaying
Zambia, Tunisia and Ethiopia in home and away matches to book their place –
along with Cameroon – as Africa’s representatives at the London Olympics.
Thanks
to the firm support of Sascoc, SAFA and Sasol, Banyana Banyana were conditioned
in lengthy training camps and played several international friendly matches.
They also participated in the Cyprus Women’s Cup as part of their preparations
for their Olympic Games debut.
Banyana
Banyana outplayed Zambia 6-2 on aggregate to book their place at the CAF
African Women Championship 2012 which kicks off in Equatorial Guinea at the end
of October.
Apart
from being the sponsors of Banyana Banyana and the Sasol League in South
Africa, Sasol is also the sponsors of the Team SA Olympic and Paralympic teams
in action in London, enhancing their support for upliftment through sport.
