2026 WAFCON: Maiacane withdraws from Banyana squad for Malawi friendly

Photo Credit - Banyana Banyana.

Banyana Banyana have confirmed the withdrawal of Mavis Maiacane ahead of their international friendlies against Malawi.

The African champions will face the Scorchers at UJ Soweto Campus on Saturday, 5 April 2025 and on Tuesday, 8 April 2025 in matches that are part of the team’s defence of their Women’s Africa Cup of Nations title in July.

They held their first training session on Wednesday, 2 April, and reconnected on and off the pitch, with team spirit and unity clearly on display.

However, a statement from SAFA confirmed the withdrawal of Maiacane by saying: “Mavis Maiacane has withdrawn from camp due to illness and has been replaced by Tanna Hollis from JVW FC.”

On Wednesday, Kaylin Swart and Thembi Kgatlana were present at the training session, but Kgatlana but did not participate after arriving late last night due to flight delays caused by severe weather conditions in the United States of America.

Meanwhile, Jermaine Seoposenwe is expected to join the squad on Thursday, Thursday, 3 April, as she also experienced travel disruptions due to similar weather delays in the US.

Malawi are expected to provide competitive opposition in both fixtures, offering the technical team valuable opportunities to fine-tune tactics and evaluate performance under match conditions.

With just over three months remaining before the start of WAFCON, these matches serve as an important phase in South Africa’s title defence campaign.

The South African senior women’s team will continue with daily sessions at UJ Auckland Park as they build toward the opening fixture this weekend.