African women's football teams to go up against veteran teams at London Olympics
April 25, 2012
The 2012 London Olympics are just a few months away, and the tournament matchups for the competing soccer teams were chosen on Tuesday, April 24. Cameroon's women's team, which qualified for the Olympics following a defeat of Nigeria, was grouped together with Great Britain, New Zealand and Brazil, according to ESPN. This is the first time Cameroon has made it to the Olympic level of competition, and luckily they are not facing reigning champion Japan right off the bat.
South Africa was unlucky enough to be placed in the same pool with the leading team as well as Sweden and Canada, according to AllAfrica.com. However, the South African team is more excited than nervous for now.
"For me this is an historic day in my life because, back in the days of apartheid, when I played football - I only used to dream of playing teams in South Africa because internationally there was nothing," Banyana Banyana coach Joseph Mkhonza told the BBC. "When I took up coaching I dreamt of coaching at the highest level. And here I am."
The matches are scheduled for early August, and those who want to find out more about the teams' prep leading up to the games can make calls to South Africa to discuss the upcoming tournament with their friends.