Banyana headed for 2012 London Olympics

Banyana Banyana will do well at the London Olympics in 2012 if their support and interest from fans continued to rise, says team captain Ayanda Dlamini.

Striker - Noko Matlou

"We are so grateful for the support but the tough times are still to come. We need support so much more now than before and I hope our fans will be with us during the preparations for the Olympics and the tournament itself," Dlamini told the Mail & Guardian on Wednesday.

The team recently assured their maiden qualification for the global showpiece as one of only two eligible African nations, with a 4-1 aggregate win over Ethiopia after a 1-1 draw in Addis Ababa last Sunday.

Either Nigeria or Cameroon will join Banyana after they play for the final qualification spot on October 22.

Often seen as the ugly sister of their popular Bafana counterparts, Banyana have undergone a renaissance of sorts, since the arrival of coach Joseph Mkhonza.

After replacing Augustine Makalakalane under a cloud of controversy in late 2010, Mkhonza set about building on the platform set by his predecessor.

On the back of achieving third place at the 2010 Women's African Football Championship on home soil, Mkhonza led the team through the tricky qualifying process, winning against Zambia and Tunisia before dispatching the Ethiopians.

"This was our goal after we failed to qualify for the World Cup. We set our sights on the Olympics and we put all our energy into getting there," said team manager Zanele Khanyile.

Searching for support
Although this was a major coup for women's soccer, one question still remains: Will women's soccer ever be as popular as the men's version of the game?

Source http://mg.co.za
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