Banyana Banyana co-captain Andile Dlamini says the team will go into the coming Fifa Women’s Cup in Australia and New Zealand starting next month with a lot of experience as they have grown in the last four years.

The African champions will be participating in their second World Cup, having made their debut in France in 2019. Though they were novices, Banyana gave a good account of themselves, despite going out in the group stages without a win. 

Since then, they have shown tremendous growth and players have improved in their standard, and the core of the team play overseas. They went on to win the Wafcon last year in Morocco and secured back-to-back qualification for the World Cup.  

“We have gained more experience, honestly speaking, it was our first time in 2019, we were very young and a lot of girls were not playing overseas,” goalkeeper Dlamini said this week at the team’s send-off breakfast organised by Brand SA.

“We learnt to take every moment seriously, yes, we tried but we were first-timers then. So this time around, it’s our second time, we have to take opportunities, and make sure we perform to the best of our abilities.

“Leave everything on that field of play, and when you leave everything on that field of play, as the coach says ‘you won’t regret anything’.

Banyana are in a tough Group G with Sweden, Italy and Argentina. Many are not giving them a chance of making it out of the group stage, but Banyana are confident that their unity and international players will see them through. 

“Banyana Banyana is a united team, we hold each other’s hands,” said SA Sports Star of the Year Dlamini. 

“We inspire each other a lot, we congratulate each other, that’s the unity; when you say Banyana Banyana you say unity. We’re a team that’s unbreakable, a chain that’s holding each other,” she said.