Banyana confirm Lionesses friendly

African champions Banyana Banyana will take on European champions England in an international friendly on October 29 at the Coventry Building Society Arena, the South African Football Association (Safa) confirmed on Tuesday.

With Banyana’s defence of their Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) title now postponed to next year, South African can at least look forward now to testing themselves against the 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup finalists, currently ranked as the third best side on the planet.

‘A great opportunity’

“This is a great opportunity for us to continue our preparations for WAFCON,” said Banyana head coach Desiree Ellis in a Safa press release.

“It gives us time to really prepare well for this challenge to defend our WAFCON title. I’m also excited that the challenge of facing England, the European champions, will test us in a different way. We hope our fans in the UK will come out in numbers to support us.

The Confederation of African Football announced in June that the WAFCON will be played in Morocco about a year later than originally scheduled, from July 5 to July 26 next year.

In the same month, Sarina Wiegman’s England will defend their Uefa Women’s Euro title in Switzerland. That competition is set to take place from July 2 to 27 next year.