21 July 2026 – Sasol Banyana Banyana have settled in nicely at their hotel in Casablanca, Morocco, ahead of the CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON 2026) scheduled to take place from 26 July to 16 August.
The 2022 African Champions arrived on Sunday and wasted no time in continuing with their preparations. The South Africans have already had two intense training sessions as they build up to their Group D encounters which feature matches against Tanzania, Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso.
“It was a long travel, but we’ve had two sessions now trying to acclimatize to the heat as we are coming from a cold South Africa, but fortunately, for now, it’s not as hot as it was last year. We had really good sessions and now we are looking forward to the rest of the week,” said Head Coach Dr Desiree Ellis.
There is now a full complement of players in camp following the arrival of the overseas-based Thembi Kgatlana, Amogelang Motau (both Mexico), Bongeka Gamede (Denmark) and Linda Motlhalo (Scotland). Both Kgatlana and Gamede have already taken part in the training sessions while Motau and Motlhalo will get their first taste on Wednesday.
“It’s very exciting to have them, we have sat down with them to show them what we did last week and to continue with preparations. Of course, it’s a couple of days to go and we need to make sure that everybody understands what it is that we need to do,” added Dr Ellis.
Among the squad of 26 players selected for WAFCON 2026 is midfielder Robyn Moodaly-Salgado who last played for Banyana Banyana in 2023 after the FIFA Women’s World Cup in New Zealand and Australia. Prior to that, she was part of the history-making WAFCON winning team in 2022.
“Obviously I haven’t been here for a while, so I am really excited to be back wearing national team colours. It’s super exciting being back, being welcomed again and playing the game with old teammates and just being back in the WAFCON setup, I am really looking forward to it. I’m ecstatic, new expectations, new goals, new year, we want to qualify for the World Cup, and we want to bring it home again,” said Moodaly-Salgado.
WAFCON 2026 kicks off on Sunday, but South Africa will be in action the following day (Monday, 27 July) when they face Tanzania in their opening game, followed by clashes against Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso in the group stages.
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