COSAFA champions, Banyana Banyana have been paired against neighbours Mozambique in the first round of the CAF African Women Cup of Nations scheduled for Morocco next year.

The first match of the two-legged encounter will be played during the week of 7 – 15 June 2021 while the second leg is scheduled for a week later. Mozambique will be at home in the first leg while Banyana Banyana will host the second leg.

The winner of the Mozambique/South Africa match will meet the winner of the Algeria v Sudan match in the second round to decide on who qualifies for the AWCON tournament in Morocco scheduled for July next year. The second round matches are scheduled for October.

Four semi-finalists will automatically qualify for the FIFA World Cup scheduled for Australia and New Zealand in 2023 while the two other spots will be involved in play offs.

Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis said she was excited about the draw and was ready to get going.

“We are very excited that the draw has finally taken place, it has been a frustrating year for women football because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Mozambique match will be a tough encounter and we are glad that we have played them in the COSAFA tournament before, therefore we know their strengths and weaknesses,’’ said Ellis.
“We will not take them lightly as we know that Women’s football on the continent is growing,” added Ellis.

Meanwhile, the South African U-17 National Women’s Team (Bantwana) will only play in the third round of African qualifiers against the winners of Equatorial Guinea and Kenya. The FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup will be hosted in India in 2022.

Basetsana who are the South African Women’s U-20 National Team will play winners of DR Congo and Sao Tome in the second round of Africa qualifiers for a shot at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup scheduled for Costa Rica.