BLOEMFONTEIN – South Africa’s senior women’s team, Banyana Banyana, look to fully exploit their home advantage against Madagascar in crucial double-header CAF Women’s Olympic qualifier matches in Bloemfontein. The two African nations are vying for a slot in the 2028 Olympic Games to be staged in Los Angeles.

Banyana have the advantage of hosting both legs at the Toyota Stadium in familiar surroundings. South Africa enjoys this advantage because Madagascar’s home venues do not meet CAF approval. The first leg takes place on Friday 9 October, followed by the second leg on Tuesday 13 October. Kick-off is at 18:00 for both matches.

Banyana Banyana’s head coach, Dr Desiree Ellis, and her charges are faced with this tough assignment following the team’s failure to secure automatic qualification at this year’s Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) staged in Morocco during August. South Africa lost 1 – 2 to host nation Morocco in the quarterfinals.

Ellis is spearheading the South African women’s team in their ambitious quest to qualify for the global showpiece for a third time. Banyana made their historic Olympic debut on 25 July 2012, against Sweden at the London 2012 Olympics, with their second appearance coming at the Rio 2016 Games.

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Addressing the media on Tuesday, ahead of the must-win two-legged fixtures against Madagascar, Ellis emphasised the importance of the team converting goal-scoring opportunities and remaining resolute in the quest to secure qualification for the Olympic Games.

“We need to convert chances we create. It was clear during the WAFCON that due to the inability to convert chances, that the results do not go your way. Keeping a clean sheet is also very important,” said Ellis.

The former Banyana skipper rued missed opportunities and said work is ongoing to use those missed chances as a corrective yardstick to sharpen their ability to score important goals on the road to Olympic qualification.

An optimistic Ellis stressed the benefits of Banyana always qualifying for major international competitions. “It is really important to qualify for these global events, the Olympics included, because the newer and younger players that come into the fold will also gain valuable experience through that,” she said. Ellis has set a target of starting well against the visiting islanders in Friday’s match.