The teams arrived in the country on Wednesday and received a warm welcome ahead of the tournament that has been revamped due to the tournament now starting later than initially played and because of teams withdrawing.

There was uncertainty over the team’s participation in the tournament due to the deadly and devastating earthquake that rocked Turkey and Syria last week.

The global governing body of the sport, FIFA, gave the greenlight for the tournament to go ahead, but SAFA took their time in sending the African champions.

Banyana coach Desiree Ellis said the tournament forms part of their World Cup preparations.

“We arrived safely in the country and we were warmly welcomed by the Turkish people,” Ellis said.

“We arrived at the hotel with people greeting us, it was really fantastic and welcoming. We had an activation session earlier on after the long travel.

South Africa was meant to play against Turkey one Wednesday, but instead, their opening match will be on Saturday when they face Uzbekistan. Banyana was due to take on Venezuela as well, however, the South American nations withdrew.

The other teams still participating in the tournament are Bulgaria, Estonia, Kosovo, Hong Kong, Jordan, North Macedonia, Slovenia and Zambia.

Banyana will be using the tournament in Antalya to prepare for the upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport