Banyana to warm up in Brazil
International matches in Sao Paulo, Brazil, this month will prepare the SA women's football team for the Cyprus Women's Cup, according to Banyana Banyana coach Joseph Mkhona.
A squad of 22 players will leave on Wednesday for an 18-day camp in Sao Paulo, where they will compete against the national women's teams of Argentina, Peru and Chile, as well as a Brazilian club side, ahead of the Cyprus tournament which starts on February 28.
"It was crucial for Banyana Banyana to have a few friendly matches before competing against some of the world's leading women's football nations at the Cyprus Women's Cup," Mkhonza said on Sunday.
The South Africans were drawn against South Korea, New Zealand and Northern Ireland for the Cyprus tournament, and Mkhonza was confident of the effect the build-up would have on their campaign at the London Olympic Games.
"It's good for the team that the players are getting opportunities to play against different styles of football," he said.
United States-based goalkeeper Roxanne Barker and experienced central defender Janine van Wyk were added to the group that spent three weeks at a training camp in Stellenbosch last month.
The Cyprus Cup allowed only 22 players to be registered by each country, according to the SA Football Association (Safa), and with experienced midfielders Nompumelelo Nyandeni and Kylie Ann Louw joining Banyana at the tournament, two players at the camp in Brazil would have to return home.
Those players would be decided towards the end of the training camp.
Safa said former SA Under-23 men's coach Ephraim "Shakes" Mashaba would join the squad in Brazil as an assistant to Mkhonza.
Bafana Bafana physical trainer Francisco Gonzalez was also in the touring party, and the players would receive additional support from a bio kinetics consultant, a masseur and a training session and match analyst.