Banyana Banyana have advanced to the second round of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games qualifiers after receiving a bye in the first round.
At a draw conducted in Cairo in Egypt on Wednesday, the South Africans were pitted against the winners between South Sudan and Madagascar who will get the ball rolling in the early stage of the competition.
The first round is scheduled to be played in June 2026 while the second round matches will be held in October this year.
‘Need to get back to the big stage’
“We haven’t been to the Olympic Games since 2016, and that is a long time ago. We need to get back to that big stage,” said Banyana Banyana coach coach Dr Desiree Ellis.
“Now that we have seen the draw, it will help us plan thoroughly for the qualifiers. But for now, we cannot lose focus of what is ahead of us, the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON 2026), which is equally important as it gives us the ticket to the World Cup in Brazil. We want to make it three in a row. Once the competition has concluded in Morocco, the entire focus will shift to the Olympic qualifiers.”
The qualifiers will be played over five rounds, with South Africa, Ghana and Nigeria exempted from the first round.
Round 3 will see the 16 teams battle it out in the two-legged qualifiers with the remaining eight teams advancing to the penultimate round.
After this phase, the final four teams will produce the last two standing that will represent Africa in the United States of America.
CAF Women’s Olympic Games Qualifying Dates
Round 1
1-9 June 2026
Round 2
5-13 October 2026
Round 3
23 February-6 March 2027
Round 4
4-12 October 2027
Round 5
23 November-4 December 2027
There are 35 nations taking part in the qualifiers with only two slots allotted the African continent at the Olympic Games which will run from 11 to 29 July 2028 in Los Angeles.