Ellis’ Banyana to compete in Turkey for World Cup preparations

Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis is excited with the preparations her team will be getting at the Turkish Cup ahead of the Fifa Women’s World Cup.

The Turkish Cup will be held from 13-23 February, with all the matches being played at the Gold City Sport Complex.

ALSO READ: Can Pirates end Sundowns’ winning rampage?

Banyana were confirmed as other opponents for the tournament, which includes the host nation Turkey, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Slovenia and Zambia. The South African senior women’s team were expected to prepare for the World Cup by participating at the Cyprus Cup, but, they have since been included for the Turkish Cup instead and Ellis is happy with the opponents they will be facing.

“We are very excited to be going to the Turkish Cup. In our group at the Fifa Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, we have Sweden and Italy, who are European opposition, and then obviously we have Argentina, who are South American opposition,” the Banyana coach told Safa.net.

“We are very excited and grateful that we will be playing a European nation (Turkey) in the Turkish Women’s Cup. We also play Uzbekistan, who are Asian, and then finally a South American opponent (Venezuela).”

The Banyana coach thanked South African Football Association (Safa) and their sponsors Sasol for organising the opponents they wanted in order to be ready for the World Cup and she says they are looking forward to their next camp.

“So yes, it is a good start to our preparations and we want to also say thank you to the South African Football Association in the effortsto get us the opposition that we want in terms of European and South Americansides,” Ellis continued.

READ MORE: Pirates down Gallants to make it three wins in a row

“And also thank you to Sasol for their partnership and their support. We are really looking forward to the upcoming camp and to see what we still need to work on, and obviously to get ready for this big year that culminates in the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.”

The Fifa Women’s World Cup will be held from 20 July until 20 August.