Banyana get bye in 2028 Olympics qualifiers

Banyana Banyana have advanced to the second round of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games qualifiers after receiving a first-round bye on Wednesday.

During a draw held in Cairo, Egypt, Banyana were drawn against the winners of the first-round tie between South Sudan and Madagascar .

The opening round is scheduled for June 2026, with the second round set to follow four months later.

Banyana coach, Desiree Ellis, welcomed the draw but stressed the importance of maintaining focus on upcoming tournaments.

“We haven’t been to the Olympic Games since 2016, and that is a long time ago. We need to get back to that big stage,” she said.

Ellis added that planning for the qualifiers will begin in earnest after assessing the draw,

“But for now, we cannot lose focus of what is ahead of us, the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, which is equally important as it gives us the ticket to the World Cup in Brazil. We want to make it three in a row. Once the competition has concluded in Morocco, the entire focus will shift to the Olympic qualifiers.”

The qualifiers will be played over five rounds, with South Africa, Ghana and Nigeria exempted from the first round.

Round three will see the 16 teams battle it out in the two-legged ties, with eight teams progressing to the penultimate stage.

Written by: Ntsako Mukhari