Banyana ready to perform in Turkish Cup as the country rebuilds after earthquake

Banyana Banyana have safely touched down in Türkiye ahead of their participation in the Turkish Women’s Cup.

South Africa take on Uzbekistan in their opening fixture fixture on Saturday.

Banyana Banyana’s participation in the annual competition forms part of their preparation for the 2023 Women’s World Cup, which is only five months away.

Coach Desiree Ellis says the team has not been impacted by the devastation caused by the recent earthquake in the country, as well as the search and rescue efforts which continue.

At least 41 000 people have died as a result of the quake, prompting the hosts as well as Jordan and Venezuela to pull out of the competition.

Speaking on #MSW, Ellis says this experience will be invaluable.

Antalya is completely unaffected by the earthquake and people were very welcoming here. We played Brazil and Australia and saw what we were lacking and now that we are facing teams closer to us in the rankings, it’s time to implement the lessons from those games.

Desiree Ellis, Banyana Banyana Head Coach.

There are only two FIFA dates and this is one of them. If you only play in April then that’s not enough ahead of the World Cup and your preparations are pretty much down the drain.

Desiree Ellis, Banyana Banyana Head Coach.

We have to win both games and we have the quality to do that. It is also about building confidence and improve on some of the things that we have been working on.

Desiree Ellis, Banyana Banyana Head Coach.

South Africa are in Group A, alongside Zambia, Uzbekistan and Slovenia.

Banyana Banyana face Uzbekistan at 3pm on Saturday.

This article first appeared on 947 : Banyana ready to perform in Turkish Cup as the country rebuilds after earthquake