The Plot to Dethrone Super Falcons As African Women Champions - Banyana Banyana's Game Plan

 

South African ladies has already landed in Rabat Morocco with a clear mission to dethrone Super Falcons of Nigeria and become the next African women champions come July 23.

The coach Desiree Ellis’ team may have discovered the weak points of this Nigerian national team, that has dominated African women football for so long.  And with such game plan, it was easy to overrun the Super Falcons 4-2 at maiden edition of Aisha Buhari Cup in September 2021.

Despite, Super Falcons were the favourite and also had the support of the home crowd, the South Africans were able to subdue them at the Mobolaji Bank Anthony stadium Lagos, and prove that the future of the game belongs to them.

This was a game plan they have worked on for so long that eventually paid-off. It was a sweet revenge for the Banyana Banyana, who lost 0-1 to the Nigerians in the semi final of the 2016 African Women Nations Cup in Cameroun, as well as the final game of the Ghana 2018 African Women Nations Cup

The Game Plan

Ellis is taking the same blueprint master-game-plan to Morocco. The game plan is to constantly mount pressure on the Falcons and do not allow them to establish their pattern of play. Woman to woman marking and quick recovery of the ball anytime they lost it. The South Africans believe they are younger and have "power-horse" players  that can outrun the Nigerian in the 90 minutes duration or more.

Banyana Banyana decided to land in Morocco early enough to acclimatize and take in enoughdrill before other teams start arriving. 

The Motivation

South African Football Association president Danny Jordaan has promised Banyana Banyana R9.2m to win the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations 2022.

Jordaan made the announcement at a short send-off press conference in Parktown on Tuesday.

Head coach Desiree Ellis’ group had their final training session in Linksfield, Johannesburg on Tuesday morning before departing for Morocco on Tuesday night.

Their opening game is against the Super Falcons on July 4, and should Banyana reach the semi-finals, they’ll qualify for the 2023 Women’s World Cup.

If they finish fourth, each player will get R30, 000, and third will see them get R40, 000 each. Second place will come with R55, 000 with the massive reward of winning the tournament would see the players get a whopping R400, 000.

Banyana star player Thembi Kgatlana has vowed that Banyana would bring 2022 AWCON trophy back to South Africa.

For the Records

From five meetings at the AWCON tournament, the Falcons have won three while the South Africans have won twice.

The Next Fixture

Banyana will face Nigeria in their opening match of the competition on 4 July at Prince Moulay Hassan Sports Complex in Rabat