Banyana are fresh from winning the COSAFA Women’s Championship in Port Elizabeth over the weekend and will be back in camp on October 1 for their two matches against South Americans Chile.
The first match will be played on October 6 at Estadio Sausalito in Vina del Mar. And then on October 9 the two sides will lock horns at Estadio Santa Laura in the capital Santiago.
The AFCON will be played in Ghana from November 17 to December 1.
“We could not have asked for better preparation for a tournament of the magnitude of AFCON. We have just come out of a successful COSAFA Women’s Championship, now we are heading into the unknown that is Chile. It is important to play these top nations so that we maintain the momentum from the COSAFA tournament all the way to the AFCON,” said Ellis.
“We have said this was a very important year for Banyana Banyana, and the preparations have to be spot on if we want to qualify for the one tournament that has always eluded us – the FIFA World Cup. Because in all honestly, we have a very good team that should be able to qualify for major events. Also, for some of the players this is the last chance to play in a World Cup, so we have to make it count this year. Gratitude goes once again to SAFA and our sponsors Sasol for making it all possible.”