CAPE TOWN – Banyana Banyana are ready to begin their CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) 2026 campaign when they take on Tanzania in their Group B opener on Monday evening at the Moulay Rachid Stadium in Casablanca, Morocco.
South Africa head into the tournament looking to make another strong statement on the continental stage.
Drawn alongside Tanzania, Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso in Group B, Banyana know that a positive start will be vital in their quest to secure a place in the knockout stages and mount a serious challenge for the African title.
Head coach Desiree Ellis believes the opening fixture will play a defining role in shaping the team’s campaign.
“The first match of the tournament is always very important,” said Ellis. “It sets a tone for the rest of the tournament and you have to go all guns blazing for that tournament and everything we’ve done, we’ve prepared for that for the first game because you cannot prepare further than that without, you know, getting a good result in the first game.
“I think over the last couple of tournaments it’s really set the tone for us in getting a good result in the first game to make sure, you know, that we can manage the rest of the games but also get results that is in our favor and get results that will take us to the next round.”
While Tanzania may be viewed as underdogs, Ellis expects another fiercely contested encounter between the two nations.
“We’ve played them a couple of times,” she said. “The games have always been tight – you know, they can play but they also bring the physicality.
“We’ve played a lot against teams over the last year and a half that are physical, you know, so we’ve prepared extremely well in that way. We also looked at some footage and analysed them as well and we’ve been working on certain things to make sure, you know, that we can, you know, get the game plan going and players can execute the game plan to get a positive result.
Obviously, we need to keep a clean sheet.”
