10 January 2018 – Sasol-sponsored Banyana Banyana have been invited to participate in the 11^th edition of the Cyprus Women’s Cup, that takes place annually in Cyprus.

The tournament runs from 26 February to 7 March 2018, and involves 12 women’s national teams from around the world.

The matches are played in the cities of Nicosia, Paralimni and Larnaca – using six venues.

The competition has been held since 2008, and Switzerland are the current champions.

South Africa is no stranger to this tournament and will be making their sixth appearance – they were there in 2009 (6^thposition finish), 2010 (8^th), 2012 (10^th), 2013 (11^th) and 2015 (10^th).

For the 2018 edition, Banyana Banyana have been drawn in Group C alongside Hungary, Slovakia as well as Trinidad and Tobago.

In Group A, there Finland, Switzerland, Italy and Wales, while Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic and Spain are in Group B.

South Africa will face Slovakia in their opening match to be played on Wednesday, 28 February.

Kickoff is at 13h00.

The next match will see Banyana Banyana taking on Hungary on Friday, 2 March at 18h00.

In the last group stage clash, South Africa will lock horns with Trinidad & Tobago on Monday, 5 March at 13h00.

The Cyprus Women’s Cup uses the following two-phase format:

• The first phase is a group stage in which the twelve invited teams are divided into three groups of four teams
• The teams inGroup A and Group B consist of higher-ranked teams and are the only teams actually in contention for the championship
• Group Cconsists of lower-ranked teams
• Each group plays around-robin of six games, with each team playing one match against each of the other teams in the same group.

The second phase is a single “finals day” in which six games involving all twelve teams are played to determine the tournament’s final standings, with the match-ups as follows:

• 1st place match: Winners of Groups A and B
• 3rd place match: Winner of Group C and best runner-up from Groups A and B
• 5th place match: Runner-up in Group C and second-best runner-up from Groups A and B
• 7th place match: Third-place teams in Groups A and B
• 9th place match: Third-place team in Group C and best fourth-place team from Groups A and B
• 11th place match: Fourth-place team in Group C and second-best fourth-place team from Groups A and B.

PARTICIPATING NATIONS – 2018 Cyprus Women’s Cup:

Group A:

Finland, Italy, Switzerland, Wales 

Group B:

Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Spain

Group C:

Hungary, Slovakia, South Africa, Trinidad & Tobago

BANYANA BANYANA FIXTURES AT THE 2018 CYPRUS WOMEN’S CUP

28 February:

Slovakia vs South Africa

13h00

2 March:

South Africa vs Hungary

18h00

5 March:

South Africa vs Trinidad & Tobago

13h00

FINAL’S DAY:

Wed 07 March:

11/12th Place

9/10th Place

7/8th Place

5/6th Place

3/4^th Place

1/2^nd Place

South Africa’s Opponents so far in the Cyprus Cup:

2009

Group A

England, France, Scotland

2010

Group B

Canada, Switzerland, England

2012

Group C

South Korea, New Zealand, Northern Ireland

2013

Group C

Republic of ireland, South Korea, Northern Ireland

2015

Group C

Mexico, Czech Republic, Belgium

PREVIOUS WINNERS OF CYPRUS WOMEN´S CUP

2008 –  Canada

2009 –  England

2010 –  Canada

2011 –  Canada

2012 –  France

2013 –  England

2014 –  France

2015 –  England

2016 –  Austria

2017 –  Switzerland

SOURCED FROM SAFA WEBSITE