The
South African Women’s Senior National Team (Banyana Banyana) may be the new
kids on the block in terms of Olympic Games level experience, but statistics
will be far from their minds when they represent Team SA, and the country, in
their opening Group F fixture in Coventry, England on Wednesday, 25 July 2012
(20h00 kick-off SA time).
Thanks
to the firm financial backing of Sasol, the South Africans have had a solid
build-up to the Olympic Games, and will put Sweden’s statistics far out of
their minds when they lace up their boots for action. Sasol is also the
official sponsor of Team SA at the Olympics and Paralympics respectively.
While
Banyana Banyana is placed 4 th on the Confederation of African football
rankings, the Swedes are ranked 2 nd in Europe.
Sweden
beat France 2-1 in the playoff for third and fourth places at the 2011 FIFA
World Cup held in Germany last year, and it is these two nations that will
represent Europe at the Olympics over the next few weeks.
South
Africa’s head coach Joseph Mkhonza, who played as a striker for South African
professional sides Kaizer Chiefs and African Wanderers in the 1970s, described
the mood among the Banyana Banyana players as “nervous but excited, and can’t
wait for the Olympic Games action to begin”.
“We
have had a look at the match venue and have a fully fit team of 18 players to
choose from for the match against Sweden,” said Mkhonza.
“We
have known since we beat Ethiopia in September last year that we were going to
play at the Olympics, so I don’t believe the moment will be too big for our
players.”
Following
the match against Sweden, the South Africans will play their next Group F
fixture at the same venue on Saturday, 28 July 2012 against Canada (15h45
kick-off), before playing FIFA World Cup women’s champions Japan in Cardiff,
Wales in their final group fixture on Tuesday, 31 July 2012 (15h30 kick-off).
The
12 teams have been drawn in three groups of four teams each, with the top two
sides from each group and the best two third placed teams, qualifying for the
last eight knockout stage of the competition.
