Banyana Banyana midfielder Noxolo Cesane says they are fully focused on their preparations with less than one day to go before their first match at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in Morocco.
The South African women’s national team will kick off their title defence against Ghana’s Black Queens at the Stade d’Honneur d’Oujda on Monday, seeking to defend the crown they won three years ago.
Banyana are pooled in Group C alongside Ghana, Tanzania and Mali.
“We are more focused on what we need to be doing on the day when the Ghana game comes, and we are really working on that. We are focused on ourselves and not stressed about other teams, and we just need to make sure that we do (on the field) what we train,” said Cesane.
The forward admitted that since winning their maiden continental title in 2022, a lot has happened, and many teams have changed their personnel – and South Africa is no different.
“Every day, every month and every season team’s change, and it is going to be hard, but we have to fix ourselves instead of looking at other teams, and we have to work hard to achieve what we want. So far, we are doing well, we have frustrations here and there, like mistakes on the field and we have to fix those – it’s difficult but we are working hard,” added Cesane.
Banyana camped in Casablanca ahead of the tournament that kicked off on Saturday, July 5 with the final penciled in for Saturday, July 26, 2025.