South Africa women's national soccer team

South Africa
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Banyana Banyana
AssociationSouth African Football Association
ConfederationCAF (Africa)
Sub-confederationCOSAFA (Southern Africa)
Head coachDesiree Ellis
CaptainRefiloe Jane
Most capsJanine Van Wyk (185)
Top scorerPortia Modise (101)
FIFA codeRSA
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 52 Decrease 7 (15 December 2023)
Highest45 (August 2023)
Lowest74 (June – September 2005; December 2007)
First international
 South Africa 14–0 Eswatini 
(Johannesburg, South Africa; 30 May 1993)
Biggest win
 South Africa 17–0 Comoros 
(Port Elizabeth, South Africa; 31 July 2019)
Biggest defeat
 China 13–0 South Africa 
(Dalian, China; 7 September 2003)
World Cup
Appearances2 (first in 2019)
Best resultRound of 16 (2023)
Africa Women Cup of Nations
Appearances13 (first in 1995)
Best resultChampions (2022)
Summer Olympics
Appearances2 (first in 2012)
Best result10th (2012)
COSAFA Women's Championship
Appearances10 (first in 2002)
Best resultChampions (2002, 2006, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022)
Medal record
Women's Africa Cup of Nations
Second place 2000 South Africa
Third place 2006 Nigeria
Second place 2008 Equatorial Guinea
Third place 2010 South Africa
Second place 2012 Equatorial Guinea
Second place 2018 Ghana
First place 2022 Morocco


COSAFA Women's Championship
Gold medal – first place 2002 Zimbabwe
Gold medal – first place 2006 Zambia
Gold medal – first place 2017 Zimbabwe
Gold medal – first place 2018 South Africa
Gold medal – first place 2019 South Africa
Gold medal – first place 2020 South Africa
Gold medal – first place 2022 South Africa
Silver medal – second place 2011 Zimbabwe
Silver medal – second place 2022 South Africa
Websitehttps://www.safa.net/

The South Africa women's national football team, nicknamed Banyana Banyana (The Girls), is the national team of South Africa and is controlled by the South African Football Association.

South African Women competed in two Olympic Games, two FIFA Women's World Cups, and 14 Women's African Cup of Nations, where they were runners up five times before winning once. They've also competed at all 10 COSAFA Women's Championships, where they won seven times, came second twice and finished in fourth place once.

History

Banyana Banyana's first official match was held on 30 May 1993 against Eswatini, which they won 14–0. Future Women's AFCON winning coach Desiree Ellis played in that game and scored three of the goals

Their first international match outside of Africa was against China. They played two matches which they lost 8-0 and 13–0 with the latter being the heaviest defeat in their history. The team's first victory over a nation outside of Africa was in 2000, where they beat Scotland by 2–0. This was at the Cyrus Women's Cup.

South Africa's biggest win came in a COSAFA Women's Championship match in Gqeberha on 31 July 2019, when they beat the Comoros 17–0. Captain Refiloe Jane scored 4 of the goals.

Olympic Games

They qualified for Olympic football for the first time in 2012, with coach Joseph Mkhonza. Their second Olympic participation was at 2016's Rio Olympics, under coach Vera Pauw.

Women's Africa Cup of Nations

Banyana appeared in 14 CAF Women's Championships (Now known as Women's AFCON) and were runners up on five occasions (1995, 2000, 2008, 2012 and 2018) and third at two events (2006 and 2010), before eventually winning their first Women's Africa Cup of Nations in 2022, beating Morocco 2–1 in the final.

FIFA Women's World Cup

Coached by Desiree Ellis, they qualified for their first FIFA Women's World Cup in 2019, in Group B with Germany, Spain and China. However, they lost all matches, and their only goal was against Spain when they went to a 1–0 lead only to lose 3–1.

South Africa qualified for the FIFA Women's World Cup again in 2023, also coached by Desiree Ellis. During the group stages they lost 2–1 to Sweden after leading 1–0, drew 2–2 against Argentina after leading 2–0, but finally defeated Italy 3–2 and advanced to the Round of 16 for the very first time. They eventually lost 2–0 to the Netherlands. Following the team's performance, Desiree Ellis would win the 2023 award for CAF Women's Coach of the Year.

The top goal scorers at world cups are Thembi Kgatlana with 3, Hildah Magaia with 2, while Linda Motlhalo also scored one. South Africa's other goal was an own goal by Italy in 2023.

COSAFA Women's Championship

South Africa competed in all eleven COSAFA Women's Championships - a tournament featuring nations from the Southern African region - since its inception in 2002. They have won seven titles (in 2002, 2006, 2008, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020), finished second twice (in 2011 and 2022) and only failed to win a medal twice, when they finished fourth in 2021 and exited in the group stages 2023.

In later years, because of South Africa's success and increased participation in bigger world events, management started sending newcomers to COSAFA tournaments, to broaden their talent pool. This contributed to a decline in Banyana Banyana's dominance at this event.

Team image

Nicknames

The South Africa women's national football team has been known or nicknamed as the "Banyana Banyana", which literally translates to "Girls Girls", but such double use is often interpreted to mean "all the girls". In the context of sport, it is also understood to mean "go girls, go girls".

This name is derived from the Senior Men's National team being "Bafana Bafana" which also literally means "the boys the boys". The nickname came into existence from fans shouting "bafana bafana" to mean "go boys, go boys" as encouragement during the South Africa men's team's first international game after many years of sporting isolation due to Apartheid policies in 1992, when they beat Cameroon 1–0 in Durban. The name stuck, and the female form was later applied to the women's team as well.

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

Legend

 Win  Draw  Loss  Fixture

2023

10 April Friendly South Africa  2–3  Serbia Stara Pazova, Serbia
13:30 Report
Stadium: Sportski Centar FSS
2 July Friendly South Africa  0–5  Botswana Brakpan, South Africa
15:00 UTC+2
  • Gaonyadiwe 5', 13'
  • Dithebe 24'
  • Tholakele 27', 79'
Stadium: Tsakane Stadium
Referee: Vistoria Shangula (Namibia)
15 July Friendly South Africa  2–0  Costa Rica Christchurch, New Zealand
  • Thembi Kgatlana 33'
  • Hildah Magaia 55'
Stadium: Ngā Puna Wai Sports Hub
23 July FIFA WC Group Sweden  2–1  South Africa Wellington, New Zealand
17:00 UTC+12
Report
Stadium: Wellington Regional Stadium
Attendance: 18,317
Referee: Ekaterina Koroleva (United States)
28 July FIFA WC Group Argentina  2–2  South Africa Dunedin, New Zealand
Report Stadium: Forsyth Barr Stadium
Attendance: 8,834
Referee: Anna-Marie Keighley (New Zealand)
2 August FIFA WC Group South Africa  3–2  Italy Wellington, New Zealand
Report Caruso 11' (pen.), 74' Stadium: Wellington Regional Stadium
Attendance: 14,967
Referee: María Carvajal (Chile)
6 August FIFA WC R16 Netherlands  2–0  South Africa Sydney, Australia
Report Stadium: Sydney Football Stadium
Attendance: 40,233
Referee: Yoshimi Yamashita (Japan)
21 September 2023 (2023-09-21) Friendly United States  3–0  South Africa Cincinnati, Ohio
19:30 ET
Stadium: TQL Stadium
Attendance: 22,016
Referee: Katia Garcia (Mexico)
24 September 2023 (2023-09-24) Friendly United States  2–0  South Africa Chicago, Illinois
17:30 ET
Report Stadium: Soldier Field
Attendance: 25,622
Referee: Carly Shaw-MacLaren (Canada)
4 October 2023 (2023-10-04) 2023 COSAFA WC GS South Africa  3–4  Malawi Pretoria, South Africa
12:00 UTC+2
  • T. Shamase 44'
  • Nkuna 79'
  • S. Shamase 90+3'
Report
Stadium: Lucas Moripe Stadium
Referee: Antsino Twanyanyukwa (Namibia)
10 October 2023 (2023-10-10) 2023 COSAFA WC GS South Africa  3–1  Madagascar Johannesburg, South Africa
15:30 UTC+2
  • T. Shamase 14' (pen.)
  • Selana 65', 78'
  • Velomanantsolo 43'
Stadium: Dobsonville Stadium
Referee: Vistoria Shangula (Namibia)
10 October 2023 (2023-10-10) 2023 COSAFA WC GS Eswatini  0–3  South Africa Johannesburg, South Africa
15:30 UTC+2 Report
  • T. Shamase 6', 12', 55'
Stadium: Dobsonville Stadium
Referee: Rosalie Rosalie (Madagascar)
25 October 2023 (2023-10-25) 2024 Olympic qualifying DR Congo  1–1  South Africa Kinshasa, DR Congo
15:30 UTC+1
Report Stadium: Stade des Martyrs
30 October 2024 Olympic qualifying South Africa  2–0
(3–1 agg.)
 DR Congo Pretoria, South Africa
Stadium: Lucas Moripe Stadium
Note: South Africa won 3–1 on aggregate
4 December 2023 (2023-12-04) 2024 AFWCON qualification Second round 2nd leg South Africa  2–0
(3–1 agg.)
 Burkina Faso Pretoria, South Africa
15:00 UTC+1 Report (SAFA) Stadium: Lucas Moripe Stadium
Note: South Africa won 3–1 on aggregate.

2024

23 February 2024 (2024-02-23) 2024 Olympic qualifying Tanzania  0–3  South Africa
27 February 2024 (2024-02-27) 2024 Olympic qualifying South Africa  1–0
(4–0 agg.)
 Tanzania
Note: South Africa won 4–0 on aggregate.

Source: Global Sports Archive

Coaching staff

Current coaching staff

Position Name Ref.
Head coach South Africa Desiree Ellis
Assistant coach South Africa Thinasonke Mbuli
Goalkeeper Coach South Africa Cameron Cox
Performance Analyst South Africa Shilene Booysen
Physical Trainer South Africa Ridhaa Allie

Technical staff

Role Name Start date
General Manager South Africa Lauren Duncan January 2016

Manager history

Players

Current squad

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Kaylin Swart (1994-09-30) 30 September 1994 (age 29) 36 0 South Africa JVW
16 1GK Andile Dlamini (1992-09-02) 2 September 1992 (age 31) 69 0 South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns
21 1GK Katlego Moletsane (1999-09-03) 3 September 1999 (age 24) 1 0 South Africa Royal AM

7 2DF Karabo Dhlamini (2001-09-18) 18 September 2001 (age 22) 24 1 South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns
5 2DF Fikile Magama (2002-01-19) 19 January 2002 (age 22) 8 0 South Africa UWC
2DF Faith Nokuthula (2000-06-24) 24 June 2000 (age 23) England Blackburn Rovers
4 2DF Janine van Wyk South Africa JVW
2 2DF Lebohang Ramalepe (1991-12-03) 3 December 1991 (age 32) 91 4 Belarus Dinamo Minsk
19 2DF Lonathemba Mhlongo (2002-08-23) 23 August 2002 (age 21) South Africa UWC
4 2DF Noko Matlou (1985-09-30) 30 September 1985 (age 38) 168 66 Spain Eibar
2DF Asanda Hadebe (2006-11-28) 28 November 2006 (age 17) South Africa Sunflower WFC

10 3MF Linda Motlhalo (1998-07-01) 1 July 1998 (age 25) 68 19 Scotland Glasgow City
19 3MF Kholosa Biyana (1994-09-06) 6 September 1994 (age 29) 38 2 South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns
3MF S'phumelele Shamase (2002-01-16) 16 January 2002 (age 22) South Africa UJ
3MF Amogelang Motau (1997-02-27) 27 February 1997 (age 27) South Africa UWC
3MF Thubelihle Shamase (2002-01-16) 16 January 2002 (age 22) South Africa UJ

10 4FW Nicole Michael (2001-01-17)17 January 2001 (aged 22) South Africa TS Galaxy
9 4FW Gabriela Salgado (1998-02-20) 20 February 1998 (age 26) 28 7 South Africa JVW
18 4FW Samkelisiwe Selana (2004-07-07)7 July 2004 (aged 19) South Africa TS Galaxy
12 4FW Jermaine Seoposenwe (1993-10-12) 12 October 1993 (age 30) 94 20 Mexico Monterrey
6 4FW Noxolo Cesane (2000-10-11) 11 October 2000 (age 23) 31 4 Mexico UANL
23 4FW Wendy Shongwe (2003-01-18) 18 January 2003 (age 21) 1 0 South Africa University of Pretoria
8 4FW Hildah Magaia (1994-12-16) 16 December 1994 (age 29) 30 19 Mexico Mazatlán
11 4FW Thembi Kgatlana (1996-05-02) 2 May 1996 (age 27) 71 24 Mexico UANL

Recent call ups

  • The following players have been called up to a South Africa squad in the past 12 months.
Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Regirl Ngobeni (1996-02-26) 26 February 1996 (age 28) South Africa UWC v.  Serbia, 10 April 2023
GK Victoria Tshidi Muroa (1995-03-03)3 March 1995 (aged 28) South Africa TUT 2023 COSAFA Women's Championship
GK Dineo Magagula (1994-10-14) 14 October 1994 (age 29) South Africa UJ 2023 COSAFA Women's Championship
GK Kebotseng Moletsane (1995-03-03) 3 March 1995 (age 28) 1 0 South Africa Bloemfontein Celtic 2023 COSAFA Women's Championship

DF Karabo Makhurubetshi (1999-02-03) 3 February 1999 (age 25) South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns 2023 Turkish Women's Cup
DF Cimone Sauls (2004-09-30) 30 September 2004 (age 19) South Africa JVW v.  Australia, 8 October 2022
DF Thato Letsoso (1996-08-24) 24 August 1996 (age 27) South Africa TUT v.  Australia, 8 October 2022
DF Cynthia Makete (2001-05-21) 21 May 2001 (age 22) South Africa Bloemfontein Celtic v.  Australia, 8 October 2022
DF Bambanani Mbane (1990-03-12) 12 March 1990 (age 33) 81 4 South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup
DF Morongwa Manemela (2000-04-12)12 April 2000 (aged 23) South Africa TUKS 2023 COSAFA Women's Championship
DF Ntombifikile Ndlovu (1998-07-23)23 July 1998 (aged 25) South Africa UWC Ladies 2023 COSAFA Women's Championship
DF Unathi Simayile (2001-02-08)8 February 2001 (aged 22) South Africa UWC Ladies 2023 COSAFA Women's Championship
DF Raesetja Mogale (1990-04-12)12 April 1990 (aged 33) South Africa Royal AM Ladies 2023 COSAFA Women's Championship
DF Khensani Nkuna (1998-03-23)23 March 1998 (aged 25) South Africa Royal AM Ladies 2023 COSAFA Women's Championship
DF Boitumelo Rasehlo (1998-10-18)18 October 1998 (aged 24) South Africa JVW v.  DR Congo, 30 October 2023
DF Asanda Hadebe (2003-10-13)13 October 2003 (aged 19) South Africa Sunflowers v.  DR Congo, 30 October 2023
DF Tiisetso Makhubela (1997-04-24) 24 April 1997 (age 26) 24 2 South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns v.  DR Congo, 30 October 2023
DF Bongeka Gamede (1999-05-22) 22 May 1999 (age 24) 25 0 South Africa UWC v.  DR Congo, 30 October 2023

MF Refiloe Jane (1992-08-04) 4 August 1992 (age 31) 134 16 Italy Sassuolo 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup
MF Sibulele Holweni (2001-04-28) 28 April 2001 (age 22) 31 16 South Africa UWC v.  United States,24 September 2023
MF Robyn Moodaly (1994-06-16) 16 June 1994 (age 29) 42 2 South Africa JVW v.  United States,24 September 2023
MF Sinoxolo Cesane (2000-10-11) 11 October 2000 (age 23) 0 0 Mexico Mazatlán v.  United States,24 September 2023
MF Thalea Smidt (1997-12-27) 27 December 1997 (age 26) South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns 2023 COSAFA Women's Championship
MF Nomfundo Buthelezi (1999-02-20)20 February 1999 (aged 24) South Africa Durban Ladies 2023 COSAFA Women's Championship
MF Nomvula Kgoale (1995-11-20) 20 November 1995 (age 28) 21 5 South Africa TS Galaxy v.  DR Congo, 30 October 2023
MF Ayesha Moosa (2003-10-30)30 October 2003 (aged 19) South Africa UJ v.  DR Congo, 30 October 2023

FW Nthabiseng Majiya (2004-06-10) 10 June 2004 (age 19) South Africa Richmond Ladies v.  Serbia, 10 April 2023
FW Lelona Daweti (1999-09-08) 8 September 1999 (age 24) South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns v.  Serbia, 10 April 2023
FW Tshogofatso Motlogelwa (2000-04-29)29 April 2000 (aged 23) South Africa TUT 2023 COSAFA Women's Championship
FW Jade Jones South Africa Magic Ladies 2023 COSAFA Women's Championship
FW Chelsea Daniels (2002-04-08)8 April 2002 (aged 21) South Africa UWC Ladies 2023 COSAFA Women's Championship
FW Lizza Mokoena (1997-04-08)8 April 1997 (aged 26) South Africa TUT 2023 COSAFA Women's Championship
FW Melinda Kgadiete (1992-07-21) 21 July 1992 (age 31) 26 3 South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns v.  DR Congo, 30 October 2023

Previous squads

FIFA Women's World Cup
Summer Olympics
Africa Women Cup of Nations
COSAFA Women's Championship
Turkish Women's Cup

Records

  • Active players in bold, statistics correct as of 2020.

Honours

Continental

Regional


Competitive record

FIFA Women's World Cup

FIFA Women's World Cup record
Year Result Pld W D* L GF GA GD
China 1991 Did not enter
Sweden 1995 Did not qualify
United States 1999
United States 2003
China 2007
Germany 2011
Canada 2015
France 2019 Group stage 3 0 0 3 1 8 −7
AustraliaNew Zealand 2023 Round of 16 4 1 1 2 6 8 −2
Total 2/9 7 1 1 5 7 16 −9
*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
FIFA Women's World Cup history
Year Round Date Opponent Result Stadium
France 2019 Group stage 8 June  Spain L 1–3 Stade Océane, Le Havre
13 June  China L 0–1 Parc des Princes, Paris
17 June  Germany L 0–4 Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier
AustraliaNew Zealand 2023 Group Stage 23 July  Sweden L 1–2 Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington
28 July  Argentina D 2–2 Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin
2 August  Italy W 3–2 Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington
Round of 16 6 August  Netherlands L 0–2 Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney

Olympic Games

Summer Olympics record
Year Result Pld W D* L GS GA GD
United States 1996 Did not qualify
Australia 2000
Greece 2004
China 2008
United Kingdom 2012 Group stage 3 0 1 2 1 7 −6
Brazil 2016 Group stage 3 0 1 2 0 3 −3
Japan 2020 Did not qualify
Total 2/7 6 0 2 4 1 10 −9
*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Africa Women Cup of Nations

Africa Women Cup of Nations record
Year Round Pld W D* L GS GA GD
1991 Banned
1995 Runners up 6 3 1 2 19 20 −1
Nigeria 1998 Group stage 2 0 0 2 2 7 −5
South Africa 2000 Runners-up 5 4 0 1 9 3 +6
Nigeria 2002 Fourth place 5 2 1 2 6 11 −5
South Africa 2004 Group stage 3 0 0 3 2 7 −5
Nigeria 2006 Third place 5 2 1 2 8 5 +3
Equatorial Guinea 2008 Runners-up 5 3 0 2 7 4 +3
South Africa 2010 Third place 5 3 1 1 10 6 +4
Equatorial Guinea 2012 Runners-up 5 3 0 2 6 6 0
Namibia 2014 Fourth place 5 1 1 3 7 6 +1
Cameroon 2016 Fourth place 5 1 1 3 5 3 +2
Ghana 2018 Runners-up 5 3 2 0 11 2 +9
2020 Cancelled due to Covid
Morocco 2022 Champions 6 6 0 0 10 3 +7
Total Champions: 1 time 62 31 8 23 102 83 +19
*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

African Games

African Games record
Year Result Matches Wins Draws Losses GF GA
Nigeria 2003 Runner- up 5 4 0 1 12 3
Algeria 2007 Runner- up 4 2 1 1 7 7
Mozambique 2011 Fourth 4th 5 1 2 2 8 10
Republic of the Congo 2015 5th 2 0 2 0 1 1
Morocco 2019 7th 2 0 0 2 0 4
Ghana 2023 TBD
Total 5/5 18 7 5 6 28 25

COSAFA Women's Championship

COSAFA Women's Championship record
Year Round Pld W D* L GS GA GD
Zimbabwe 2002 Winner 5 5 0 0 36 2 +34
Zambia 2006 Winner 4 4 0 0 19 2 +17
Angola 2008 Winner
Zimbabwe 2011 Runner-up 5 4 0 1 14 3 +11
Zimbabwe 2017 Winner 5 3 2 0 12 3 +9
South Africa 2018 Winner 5 5 0 0 13 2 +11
South Africa 2019 Winner 5 5 0 0 27 2 +25
South Africa 2020 Winner 5 5 0 0 22 3 +19
South Africa 2021 4th 5 2 2 1 8 6 +2
South Africa 2023 Group stage 3 2 0 1 9 5 +4
Total Winner 42 35 3 4 160 28 +132
*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

All−time record against FIFA recognized nations

The list shown below shows the women's South Africa national soccer team's all−time international record against opposing nations.
*As of xxxxxx after match against xxxx.

Key
 Positive balance (more wins than losses)
 Neutral balance (as many wins as losses)
 Negative balance (more losses than wins)
Against Pld W D L GF GA GD Confederation

Record per opponent

*As ofxxxxx after match against xxxxx.

Key
 Positive balance (more wins than losses)
 Neutral balance (as many wins as losses)
 Negative balance (more losses than wins)

The following table shows South Africa's all-time official international record per opponent:

Opponent Pld W D L GF GA GD W% Confederation
Total

See also

National teams

This page was last updated at 2024-02-29 03:02 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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