Desiree Ellis believes WAFCON will be a key moment for COSAFA teams to shine

Ellis expressed this ahead as South Africa prepares to host Botswana and Zambia in the three-nation series, from 28 May - with three teams using the tournament as part of WAFCON preparations.

Speaking to SABC Sport, Ellis believes the series will be crucial to help propel the three COSAFA teams to success at the continental showpiece in July.

“I believe COSAFA competitions have been crucial for teams to assess progress when it comes to players. The thank you we can give COSAFA is making sure we perform well in major tournaments. The upcoming friendlies will give three Cosafa teams time to look into different combinations as we all prepare for the upcoming Women's Africa Cup of Nations,’’ said Ellis.

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South Africa, Botswana and Zambia were some of the top performing teams at the previous WAFCON in 2022, with South Africa lifting the trophy, Botswana finishing in quarter-finals and Zambia in the semi-finals.

Ellis explains what this means for the COSAFA region.

“These are two strong teams in the Cosafa region, I believe they have so much to offer in this year’s WAFCON, and that is what we want to see, COSAFA teams holding their own in major tournaments,’’ she added.

Three-nation series will serve as part of WAFCON preparations for COSAFA.

The three-fixture series will start with the Banyana vs Botswana clash on 28 May, followed by the Botswana vs Zambia game on 31 May, then the final clash between hosts and Zambia on 3 June.

Ellis shares her expectations from both teams.

“We know the transition that Zambia has, their players are very quick - we need to learn to catch. Meanwhile Botswana is very physical, which means we need to move quicker around them and we also need to be defensively sound,’’ she expressed.