Banyana Banyana were crowned the new champions of the continent after coach Desiree Ellis’ brave charges defeated hosts Morocco to win Banyana their first Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) title on Saturday, July 23, 2022, at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium.

While Desiree Ellis’ team has without a doubt been a favorite for most of the WAFCON campaigns they participated in, they have had problems of choking, or rather being unfortunate at the last hurdle, with them losing five WAFCON finals before they clinched their maiden title this year.

Following a goalless first half which featured a full-on onslaught by South Africa on Morocco, Hildah Magaia put Banyana Banyana in the lead when she beat Morocco goalkeeper Khadija Er-Rmichi with a clinical finish in the 63rd minute following some good work on the left by SC Braga Feminino’s Jermaine Seoposenwe.

Magaia was not done though as she completed her brace with a tap-in eight minutes later, with Seoposenwe again being the main architect of the goal.

Morocco fought back and managed to pull back a goal through Rosella Ayane in the 80th minute but it was a question of too little too late.

Coming into the tournament in Morocco, Banyana Banyana seemed as though they were off it as they had not been able to secure all the warm-up matches they had counted on.

Playing against Netherlands and their Sub-Saharan counterparts Zambia in their two friendlies prior to the continental showdown, Banyana lost 5-1 and 3-0 to the aforementioned.

The losses would seemingly be means to strengthen weaknesses though as Banyana Banyana started their WAFCON campaign with a comfortable 2-1 win over rivals, and 11-time WAFCON triumphants Nigeria.

Following the Nigerian victory, Banyana Banyana would comfortably win 3-1 against Burundi and defeat Botswana 1-0 to finish their group undefeated.

Their winning momentum would not be stopped as Banyana further knocked out Tunisia and Zambia in their knockout round matches to reach the final.

Killing two birds with one stone, Banyana Banyana have further qualified for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup which will be hosted in Australia and New Zealand.

Second placed Morocco, Zambia and Nigeria will be joining them too as the World Cup has been expanded to further include more countries.