After Banyana were drawn in the same group as Germany, Spain and China PR, Ellis headed to Le Havre, which is two-and-a-half hours outside Paris when travelling by car.
Their second group match will be against China PR at Stade Parc de Princes on June 13. Germany will be their final opponents at Stade de la Mosson on June 17.
“I must applaud FIFA for this amazing experience – it was a real eye-opener. This behind-the-scenes inspection gives you a sense of how you can plan for the tournament, especially for the first match which sets the tone for the competition. Right now I return home comfortable as to where we will be staying, training and playing. It would have been perfect to tour all three venues but what I saw was just great, and is more or less the same with the other venues,” Ellis told SAFA's website.
“I return home comfortable and with loads of information for the World Cup. All the coaches and team managers attended the workshop before the site inspection, and we were able to ask about team-specific things because at the end of the day the needs of every team differ. But we were well-received and now there is an open line of communication should we need more information. This helps because you go to the tournament knowing what to expect. And it was all-inclusive – media, technical, logistics, medical, refereeing, marketing and many more. I was very impressed.”
Full draw:
Group A: France, Korea, Norway, Nigeria
Group B: Germany, China, Spain, South Africa
Group C: Australia, Italy, Brazil, Jamaica
Group D: England, Scotland, Argentina, Japan
Group E: Canada, Cameroon, New Zealand, Netherlands
Group F: United States, Thailand, Chile, Sweden