Olympics in Banyana's mind as they face Tanzania

Banyana Banyana striker Jermaine Seoposenwe has stressed the importance of qualifying for the Olympics if they are to maintain their status as one of the continent’s giants.

Banyana, who are the reigning champions of Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon), take on Tanzania in the first leg of the third round of the Olympics qualifiers at Dar es Salaam’s Azam Complex Stadium this afternoon (3pm SA time).

The return leg is billed for Mbombela Stadium on Tuesday (7.30pm). The winner of this tie will advance to the last round. Only two nations will represent Africa at the Games, to be hosted by France’s Paris from July 26 to August 11.

“We have to continuously qualify for major tournaments if we want to stay on top in Africa, so that we are tested against the best teams in the world every year. To stay on top of Africa is super important for us,” Seoposenwe said.

The Banyana striker also feels returning to the Olympics would help the team grow. Banyana last participated at the Games in 2016, their second appearance after 2012, as they failed to qualify for the last edition in Japan’s Tokyo in 2020.

“It’s also very important for us to get back there, we haven’t been there in a while. A lot of players haven’t experienced the Olympics, so it [qualifying] is important for the development of the team, the growth of the team... the new players coming in need to experience those big tournaments for them to understand the responsibility and what means to play at those levels,” Seoposenwe said.

Seoposenwe also painted a picture of a happy camp ahead of today’s fixture, highlighting they are making sure the new players feel at home. Lesego Nkoane of TS Galaxy is one of the new players in the squad. 

“We are happy to get back to our journey to return to the Olympics. It’s also our first game of the year, so it is going to be an exciting one. There are few new players in the squad as well, so we are getting to know them as well, trying to integrate everyone into how we want to play and understanding the responsibility that we have,” Seoposenwe said.