Glasgow City midfielder Linda Motlhalo said South Africa remain among Africa’s leading sides and are producing enough talent to challenge for more titles in coming years. Motlhalo said opponents still raise their level when facing Banyana Banyana and added, “I wouldn’t say we are underdogs. I would always say that we are the team that people want to punish,” Motlhalo told ESPN.
South Africa captured their first Women’s Africa Cup of Nations crown in Morocco in 2022. Morocco, which also staged last year’s tournament, will host again from July 26 to August 16. Banyana relinquished the title with a semi-final exit last year, falling to eventual champions Nigeria.
The preliminary South Africa squad features only four players currently based at overseas clubs: Motlhalo, Thembi Kgatlana (Tigres UANL), Amogelang Motau (Club Tijuana) and Bongeka Gamede (Nordsjælland). Of the 31 players named in the preliminary list — which will be trimmed to 26 for the tournament — 12 are with Mamelodi Sundowns, seven with the University of the Western Cape and five with JVW FC. Captain Refiloe Jane is now at TS Galaxy; goalkeeper Katlego Moletsane is the sole University of Fort Hare representative and Hildah Magaia is currently unattached.
Motlhalo highlighted South Africa’s development structures as evidence of continued player production, referencing the High Performance Centre, now known as the SAFA Girls Academy. “South Africa is still producing players like me and Thembi Kgatlana,” she said to ESPN. The academy system is run by SAFA in conjunction with the FIFA Technical Development Scheme under the FIFA Academies Programme. Defender Karabo Dhlamini and goalkeeper Kaylin Swart are cited as graduates of that pathway.
Motlhalo and Kgatlana also came through TuksSport High School and the University of Pretoria’s High Performance Centre. She welcomed the recent formalisation of Kaizer Chiefs’ women’s team as another route for talent development, noting that Mamelodi Sundowns already have an established women’s side while Orlando Pirates have yet to create one. South Africa will open their WAFCON campaign against Tanzania in Casablanca on July 27, then face Ivory Coast on July 31 and Burkina Faso on August 4.
