SAFA head of communications Mninawa Ntloko reiterated the words of Banyana Banyana head coach Desiree Ellis that the team will still continue with the preparations for the Turkish Women's Cup while waiting on confirmation whether the tournament will go ahead as planned or not.

Ntloko mentioned that the tournament is going ahead until they have been advised otherwise,"there is no change in plans and the squad is currently working and preparing for the mini-tournament as planned," Ntloko said.

Meanwhile Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis has expressed her condolences to the families that have lost their loved ones during these difficult times in Turkey and Syria respectively.

"I would like to pass on my condolences to Turkey and Syria with the recent earthquake that just happened, we are waiting on the embassy and the organisers to give us new feedback and developments but for now we will be preparing for the Turkish Cup," Ellis said.

The competition is to take place in the city of Alanya, which has not been affected as heavily as other Turkish cities such as Hatay, Osmaniye, Adiyaman, Malatya, Sanliurfa and Adana, though some minor tremors were reported in Alanya on Monday.

With Banyana Banyana looking to use this tournament to prepare for the upcoming 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup that is going to be held in Australia and New Zealand in the month of July and August, Ellis will be hoping that the tournament gets to be given the nod to continue.

The 59 year old coach has named a very strong squad ahead of the tournament with the likes of Andile Dlamini, Bambanani  Mbane, Refiloe Jane and Melinda Kgadiete being some of the headline names in the 26 women squad.

Ellis decided to also include Blackburn Rovers defender Faith Owusu who couldn't play the last time she got a national call up due to documents that needed to be finalised.

The tournament is scheduled to be played between the 13th of February until the 23rd of February with Banyana Banyana drawn alongside hosts Turkey, Uzbekistan and Venezuela.

Banyana will play all their matches at the Gold City Sport Complex with Turkey being the first opponent on the 15th of February while Uzbekistan and Venezuela will follow on the 18th and 21st of February respectively.