After touching down in Cameroon, the senior women’s national team held a light training session on Wednesday evening, with new coach Desiree Ellis well-pleased with the preparations thus far.
“The trip was very long, but a nice time to spend together as a group in a non-football environment, and to finally get here,” she said. “We’re training on a beautiful field. It was good to see the enthusiasm amongst the players, even though it was just a loosening and stretching.
“When we stopped they still wanted to continue, but we had to as there’s bigger fish to try later,” she continued. “Tomorrow [Wednesday] we’ll have a big tactical session, but tonight it was good to see the players have fun and get a feel of the pitch and the conditions here. We still have to work on a few things, tweak it here and there, but we’ll be ready.”
Temperatures in Yaounde are around 30C with humidity at an uncomfortable 80%, with Ellis ensuring the team will take extra care in keeping the players hydrated.
“It’s very hot here – you just stand and sweat!” she said. “But we’re taking in a lot of fluids. That’s also the reason why we came here in March, to look at the weather and the conditions. But the players know they have to take on fluids, and we’ll monitor that so they don’t become dehydrated.”
Banyana take on neighbours Zimbabwe in their group opener at Stade de Yaounde on Saturday evening.