By GRACE CHAILE  –
THE Shepolopolo today takes on Banyana Banyana in an international friendly match that would accord coach Charles Bwale to access his side preparedness ahead of the Namibia 2014 Africa Women Championship (AWC) in October.
Both coaches have emphasised on the importance of this match saying it would give them a few of what to expect in Namibia though it would be Zambia who will benefit most by playing a side that has already been to the championship.
Zambia is in Group A with hosts Namibia, Nigeria and Ivory Coast while South Africa has been placed in Group B along with Cameroon, Algeria and Ghana at the tournament that will see the top three finishers qualify for the Canada 2015 FIFA World Cup finals.
“South Africa has been a threat to Zambia for a long time and playing them in a friendly match before the African Championship will give the girls an insight of what to expect in Namibia,” Bwale said in an interview in the week.
Bwale said Zambia can learn something from the South African squad that has been to the AWC before and expressed confidence that his team will put up a good performance having showed signs of maturity after beating the likes of Tanzania and Zimbabwe in the qualifiers.
Banyana coach Vera Pauw expressed happiness at her side will play a strong side like Zambia in a preparatory match ahead of the AWC.
Pauw said playing the Shepolopolo will help test the Banyana strength ahead of the AWC.
“We are happy we can play a stronger nation as this will help us to test our strength ahead of the Championships. It is unfortunate that Zambia could not travel to South Africa, but thanks to the support we receive from SAFA and our sponsor Sasol for making sure that we are able to still play the match,” Pauw said.