Banyana Banyana goalkeeper reflects on the WAFCON draw

Desiree Ellis’ charges have been drawn alongside Tanzania, Mali and Ghana in Group C of the 2024 WAFCON scheduled to be held from 5 to 26 July in Morocco. Speaking exclusively to SABC Sport, Swart says she believes it is a tough draw, and the defending champions will have to dig deep.

"I think it's great now that we know who we are facing and what we are gonna come up against because obviously now we're gonna train with a purpose. We are gonna know exactly who we are going up against so I do think psychologically it's great that we know who we're playing now,” Swart said.

“I think it's gonna be a very tough group, obviously every group is gonna have different surprises and different teams and I think this next AFCON is probably gonna be the best one because not only we've grown but everyone else is grown.

“The investment is better, you see different individuals that are thriving for their clubs, teams now and I think this WAFCON is gonna be a big one but also one of the best and I'm very excited for it and obviously now that we know who we are playing.

“I think it's going to be tougher now just going to the next couple of camps because they are gonna demand a lot from us and I know coach Des is already figuring out what's going to happen and how she's going to play. I do think that now going forward it's gonna be less pressure, just because we know who we are playing [preparing] for."

READ: Sundowns legend urges Bafana to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup

Banyana are ranked second on the continent, followed by Ghana (5), Mali (9) and Tanzania (27) but Swart says rankings don’t matter on the field of play.

The JVW number one goalminder says it would be detrimental for Banyana to underestimate anyone in their group.

"I don't think we can underestimate anyone as much as we've grown, everyone else is grown, they've all improved a lot over the last year, I would say and that's massive progress in such a short period of time,” she added.

“You see a lot of individual players that have grown in leaps and bounds and it's exciting to watch them when they are playing in different leagues and different countries and I think if you underestimate anyone that's on your own accord."