Cape Town — Banyana Banyana recently returned triumphantly with silverware from the Turkish Women's Cup where they were unbeaten after two matches.
The South Africans won the Group A trophy, and that ensured there were huge smiles on the Banyana players’ faces as they stepped into the arrivals hall at OR Tambo International on Thursday.
Among those who were at hand to greet the team was Safa president Danny Jordaan. In his welcoming speech, Jordaan pointed out that it was important the team be exposed to European opposition in Turkey. Sweden (World No 3) and Italy (17) are two European countries Banyana will face at the World Cup, and South Africa needed a hit out against Uefa teams.
The other team is Argentina (29), and SA are 54th on the rankings.
The Turkish Women's Cup was hit by withdrawals which saw Venezuela (52), Jordan (69) and Turkey (64) all pull out. SA ended up playing Uzbekistan (49) and Slovenia (43).
They defeated Uzbekistan 3-0 after scoring all three goals (one was an own goal) in the first half and drew 1-1 with Slovenia, who have a similar playing style to Italy.
Given that Slovenia were the highest-ranked team, there were no teams of the quality of Brazil (9), Australia (12) and the Netherlands (8). These teams have over the past months scored huge wins over SA (Brazil 3-0, 6-0; Australia 4-1; the Netherlands (5-1).
Those defeats should have prompted the team's hierarchy to realise the yawning gap in playing standards between the world's top-12 ranked countries and SA. The usual post-match retort from Banyana's camp was that it was a learning experience playing against these teams.
Full marks to Safa for arranging these friendlies even though it was not always possible to assemble all of Banyana's best players for the various games.
After the match against Australia in October, it was clear the team needs to fast-track its development so that they could at least run higher-ranked teams close. The match against Slovenia a few days ago would have been an ideal opportunity to gauge improvement.
After the 1-1 draw, coach Desiree Ellis made the point that they were shown what the team needs to work on. All of the points Ellis made were also made in previous post-match interviews.
Since October last year, Safa have appointed technical director Walter Steenbok to help Banyana plan their World Cup preparations for kick off in July. He has had significant input in the day-to-day running of the team over the last while.
During his tenure, the technical team were beefed up with a technical adviser and a second assistant from the ranks of local officials. Shilene Booysen was appointed technical adviser. Simphiwe Dludlu was named as the second assistant coach.
It was a good sign that Safa found it necessary to beef up the technical staff.
What was not good was that the pair do not come with credentials that suggest they would be ideal to fast-track Banyana's World Cup preparations.
Booysen and Dludlu's appointments auger well for the future of women's football in SA, but for now Ellis and her support team need a substantial lift to ensure the team improves significantly.
Safa could have taken a leaf out of netball's book by appointing a Norman Plummer-like figure to help the team. Plummer, a World Cup winner as a player and coach, is regarded as a coaching authority worldwide.
She is presently serving her second stint as the SA netball coach, and the team has a No 5 world ranking. During her time the national team did not finish lower than fifth at consecutive World Cups in 2015 and 2019.
In the past few months, the SA team defeated top four nations like England and Jamaica.
A football figure of Plummer's stature will no doubt cost money, but Safa have received a R16million allowance to help with World Cup preparations.
There is another reason to consider bringing in a world-class coach with proven ability. So many players in the national team are now playing abroad.
Some of them are enjoying exponential growth as players and have become sought-after internationally.
Thembi Kgatlana is playing in the United States, the world's No 1 ranked country. Previously she spent several seasons in Spain (7) playing for Benfica and Atletico Madrid. Playing in these countries would make her hugely knowledgeable about the women's game.
Recently an article headlined “Banyana Banyana’s Thembi Kgatlana opens up on a variety of issues” appeared. In an exhaustive interview, Kgatlana tells what is needed to prime the SA team ahead of the World Cup. She oozes knowledge about what the team needs. Let’s hope SA reads the story.
There are others playing in top-ranked countries and for the world's leading clubs. Well-travelled midfielder Refiloe Jane plays for Italian Serie A’s Sassuolo and previously AC Milan after a stint in Australia. She too has been interviewed extensively and has echoed much of Kgatlana's sentiments.
Another midfielder Linda Motlhalo plays for Glasgow City FC in Scotland..
The versatile Noko Matlou is another playing in the Spanish Primera for Eibar.
There are also Jermaine Seoposenwe and Noxolo Cesane who are playing for crack Mexican teams and showing huge improvement.
Has it not occurred to Safa that Kgatlana (US-based), Jane (Italy), Motlhalo (Scotland), and Matlou (Spain) could have outgrown Ellis and company?
IOL Sport