Banyana Banyana off to earthquake-hit Turkey

After uncertainties regarding the Turkey Women’s Cup following the horrific earthquake that took place in that country and Syria, the tournament was given a green light to continue.

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Turkey and its neighbouring country Syria were hit by an 8.7 magnitude earthquake last week, which saw thousands of lives being lost as the numbers continue to rise as rescue teams try to help those who are still missing and trapped under collapsed buildings.

The incident put the Turkey Women’s Cup in doubt, a competition which Desiree Ellis’ Banyana are looking to compete at in order to prepare for the Fifa Women’s World Cup, which will be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand between July and August this year.

Ellis and her members of her technical team left with 16 locally based Banyana players from OR Tambo international airport to Antalya on Tuesday, with the overseas based players set to link up with the team in Turkey on Wednesday.

There were concerns with Banyana going on to play at the tournament after the earthquake, but South African Football Association (Safa) says they have made consultations looking at the safety of the players before allowing the team to travel.

“The South African Football Association consulted widely before allowing Banyana Banyana to travel to Turkey. This follows the devastating earthquake that left thousands dead and many more injured or missing in Turkey and in neighbouring Syria a few days ago,” read a Safa statement on their website.

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“World football governing body Fifa also gave the green-light to the tournament in a letter sent to all the participants on 10 February 2023. The participating teams are: Bulgaria, Estonia, Kosovo, Hong Kong, Jordan, North Macedonia, Slovenia, South Africa, Uzbekistan and Zambia.”

Banyana will play their first game at the tournament against Uzbekistan on Saturday.