Paris 2024 Qualifiers: Desiree Ellis urges fans to fill up Loftus Versfeld vs Super Falcons

By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde

The head coach of South Africa’s senior women’s national team, Desiree Ellis is urging the fans to come out in numbers and fill up Loftus Versfeld Stadium when they play Nigeria.

The top two ranked women’s football teams in Africa will battle it out for one of two tickets up for grabs in the women’s football event of the 2024 Olympics.

Zambia and Morocco will jostle for the second ticket as Loftus Versfeld Stadium will host the second leg of the final 2024 Paris Olympics Qualifiers on April 9, 2024.

“I think it is important we have a huge crowd. The crowd needs to come out,” Ellis told SABC Sports.

“They [fans] need to show their support because we will need that 12th and 13th player. We don’t want the stadium filled with Nigerians with all due respect.

“We want the South African fans to really be the 12th and 13th players. That happened at the COSAFA Cup and we have seen what that has done to the team.

“We urged fans to come out in their numbers. It is going to be really important and obviously playing in an away country, we know how passionate they are about football.

“Our players are used to those things like going to stadiums where you play with away crowd. It is what you do on the field and execute plans as a group on the field that matters.” She concluded.

The first leg is billed for Abuja on April 5 before the return leg with the winner on aggregate making it Paris 2024 Olympics.