Antonia Maponya urges Banyana to stay focused despite early COSAFA semis qualification
24th February 2026
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Banyana Banyana defender Antonia Maponya has called for consistency after the national team secured a place in the COSAFA Women’s Championship semi-finals with a match to spare.
South Africa will be eager to maintain their winning momentum after recording back-to-back victories in the group stages.
However, Maponya insists qualification should not breed complacency, as the ultimate goal remains lifting the trophy.
“We have to continue to push. We have to be consistent and show up in each and every game. We can’t be complacent because we are already in the semis. We just have to maintain a positive attitude throughout the tournament and remember our main goal - winning the championship,” said Maponya.
The University of the Western Cape rising star acknowledged the physical nature of opposition teams in this year’s COSAFA tournament, adding that Banyana will need to show bravery and tactical flexibility in their approach.
“I think teams know that we mostly build up from the back, so it is a matter of whether we stick to the game plan or adjust our tactics because they have studied us very well. Most teams come with physical players, so we need to be very brave in how we approach them,” added Maponya.
Maponya also highlighted set-pieces as a key area requiring improvement ahead of the semi-finals.
“We need to continue paying attention to how we handle set-pieces at training. If we do that, we will perform well. We have the responsibility to take good set-pieces, but we also have the responsibility to defend them properly,” she expressed.
