Banyana Banyana head coach Dr Desiree Ellis has been true to her word in giving players chances to prove themselves ahead of South Africa’s Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) title defence.

In the recent #ThreeNations Series, which South Africa won with a 2-0 victory over Zambia on Wednesday, Ellis made five changes to the starting line-up for Banyana Banyana’s second game. The six players who started both of South Africa’s fixtures are Karabo Dhlamini, Bambanani Mbane, Fikile Magama, Amogelang Motau, Adrielle Mibe and Jermaine Seoposenwe.

Ahead of the series, Ellis stated she wanted to use the opportunity to select the best possible team to retain Banyana Banyana’s continental crown.

“We want to keep our options open and make sure that we select the best possible squad with a lot of versatility for every eventuality because in 2016, we played differently. In 2018 we played differently, in 2022 we came differently and if you watched our games against Malawi, we played differently as well, changed the system,” Ellis told SABC Sport.

“We are more here in testing players, and giving them opportunities and sometimes when you are doing that, you don’t get the results you want, but it’s also about the performance because it’s about being ready for WAFCON. It will test us with some of the players coming back from injury, and what value they can still add, and also with the new ones if they can raise their hands,” she said.

After Banyana Banyana’s 3-2 victory over Botswana last Wednesday, Ellis reaffirmed her commitment to giving players chances to prove themselves, citing the growth of squad depth her approach has yielded over the last year.

“We want to make sure that we give as many players [as possible] an opportunity. To go back to last year, we started with a new group against Senegal, we went to Denmark with a local group, we brought in some international players for the England friendly, then we brought another new group into the fold against Jamaica and Malawi. Now we’re in a position to sit down and finalise our squad,” said Eiils.

Ellis named a 24-player squad for the #ThreeNations Series international friendlies, and has subsequently announced a 46-player preliminary squad ahead of WAFCON in July. The squad will be cut down to a final 21-player list for the tournament, which will be announced on 23 June, according to the South African Football Association (SAFA).