Ellis set to rest Banyana regulars for Cosafa Cup

Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis says the 2023 Cosafa Women’s Championship will once again give her a chance to add some players into the pool of the squad.

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Ellis has always used the competition to identify new talent for Banyana, while also giving regular players a rest.

For the Cosafa Cup, Ellis will certainly select some fringe players mainly those who have done well at the Sasol League and the Hollywoodbets Super League.

During last year’s competition, the Banyana coach selected only players who are plying their trade in the country.  

“This is another opportunity for us to bring in some players into the system. We have a big year – we play against the US this month, and then two weeks after the Cosafa Women’s Championship we are back in camp. We play the Olympic qualifiers in October and towards the end of November, we have the Wafcon qualifiers, so it is a busy period,” said Ellis.

“It is another opportunity for us to test players. It is another opportunity for us to make the core group bigger because we have used it (Cosafa Women’s Championship) over the years to test players.”

Banyana are the most successful team in the Cosafa Women’s Championships with seven titles under their belt.

They will be looking to get back to being champions this year with the team having lost the final to Zambia 1-0 in the previous edition.

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The tournament will be hosted in Gauteng from 4 October until the 15^th of the same month.

But before that, Ellis has her focus on the Us trip, with the squad expected to leave the country on Sunday.

They will play two friendly matches against the US, with the first game being played at Cincinnati TQL Stadium on 21 September, then three days later, they will be hosted at Chicago’s Soldier Field.