Banyana Banyana defender Bongeka Gamede has maintained her belief that South Africa could still reach the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup after missing out on automatic qualification following a 2-1 quarterfinal defeat to Morocco at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON).
The tournament serves as the African qualifier for the upcoming Women’s World Cup in Brazil, with additional pathways via inter-confederation playoffs.
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Nigeria lost 1-0 to Cameroon and South Africa fell 2-1 to Morocco in their respective WAFCON quarter-finals, missing out on automatic World Cup spots.
The winner of this playoff advances closer toward securing a path to the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup via the inter-confederation playoffs.
However, in an interview with Sowetan, Gamede stated that South Africa still has a mathematical and competitive lifeline through remaining playoff opportunities.
“Definitely it’s not over…we have another opportunity and that should be the motivation. We must remain fully focused and believe that the dream is still there,” Gamede insisted.
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“I don’t think I can say there’s something wrong. Everyone who knows football knows that football is like this, you can’t always be at the top.
“Conceding starts from how you press, so we can’t really say as defenders we are to blame because we play as a team.”
