Bantwana secure friendlies against Uruguay and Mexico

The SA women’s Under-17 football team, Bantwana, have secured friendly matches against Mexico and Uruguay next month.

The matches will be used as preparation for the Women’s Under-17 World Cup in Uruguay starting on November 13.

SA will first face Mexico on November 1, followed by a clash with the host nation on November 5.

Simphiwe Dludlu, SA Under-17 coach, said the two games will give a good indication of the team’s readiness for the showpiece event.

“This will help the players acclimatise to the conditions there before the competition kicks off. The key thing is to make sure that the players enjoy themselves when they are on the pitch,” said Dludlu.

“Secondly, they need to be free when they play, given the fact that they will be competing on the world stage for the first time ever – and that will help them to play their normal game and showcase what they have as a collective in terms of performance.”

The side has already been hard at work in a training camp in Johannesburg this week.

“The primary focus is to get them to gel together into a solid unit before we depart for Uruguay on Saturday. Our aim is to ensure that we perform to our utmost best and try to collect as many points from our group as possible and see where that will take us in the tournament.”

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