Banyana Banyana head coach, Desiree Ellis has said her team must not only focus on defending champions, Nigeria at the 2022 Africa Women’s Cup of Nations.
The competition will kick off in Morocco this weekend.
Banyana Banyana are pitted in Group C with Nigeria, Botswana and Burundi.
Ellis’ side will kick off their campaign against nine-time champions Nigeria in Rabat on July 4.
Ellis warned that South Africa should never make the mistake of focusing only on Nigeria and Cameroon, the strongest teams in the 12-team competition.
“We can’t underestimate anyone. They are there because they deserve to be there and we saw Burundi beating Tanzania and Botswana coming through,” Ellis told Times Live.
“You have Senegal beating Mali, who were semifinalists in 2018, and Tunisia knocking out two-time champions Equatorial Guinea. Women’s football on the continent is on the rise.
“We have to make sure we move in that direction so we don’t get left behind.”
