Banyana Banyana arrived to a heroine’s welcome at the OR Tambo International Airport on Wednesday morning following their maiden FIFA Women’s World Cup appearance in France.
Newly-appointed Gauteng MEC for Sport Mbali Hlophe welcomed coach Desiree Ellis and her team, and congratulated Banyana on their journey.
She has pledged to assist the women’s game reach new heights going forward.
Banyana Banyana were drawn in what was dubbed the ‘group of death’ and inevitably lost all three of their games against Spain, China and Germany.
Ellis, who was quite emotional as they arrived, thanked the nation for the support and her chargers for making dreams come through.
Ellis, who qualified the team for their first ever World Cup, says they are already looking ahead to their next task which is defending their Cosafa title, and earning qualification for the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Banyana skipper Janine van Wyk has also thanked the entire country for the support during the tournament.
The 32-year-old says they knew they had to come out fighting against the world class teams they were grouped with.
Van Wyk believes that they have fired some warning shots to the rest of the world in women’s football. – Report by Thando Gqamane
