President Cyril Ramaphosa has cheered on Banyana Banyana after the team met with him at the Union Buildings on Wednesday 27 July.

Proudly carrying the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations trophy the team was warmly greeted by the team in the Presidency. Ramaphosa said: “Today our hearts are filled with pride. They are bursting at the seams with a great deal of joy.”

“You promised that you would bring the cup, and it is here, where it belongs….When you took to the pitch on Saturday night in Rabat, we as South Africans – 60 million of us – were with you in spirit. We watched you, like gladiators, go to war. The good news of your win was like rain falling on dry, hard ground. You have, through your victory, lifted the hearts of the nation.”

He also reiterated the plans to ensure equal pay for the women’s and men’s national soccer teams. Ramaphosa said: “You deserve equal pay for equal work that you do…I’ve been told that you get paid 10 times less than your male counterparts, and that needs to come to an end.”

He added: “You should be given what you deserve. Danny Jordaan (SAFA president), we cannot continue supporting the notion that when Bafana Bafana play, they get much more than what Banyana Banyana gets. It must come to an end. We need to give added remuneration to these young women who have made our country so proud. We must eliminate the whole process of unequal pay out of our system. When men and women do equal work, the remuneration must be the same.”

“It is unjust, and we cannot continue treating the women in our country in an unjust, unfair way,” said Ramaphosa.

Meanwhile, Four Banyana Banyana players have been included in CAF’s 2022 WAFCON Best 11. 

In the elite list of African women footballers named by CAF, accolades included Goalkeeper of the Tournament and co-captain for Andile Dlamini, defender Bambanani Mbane, co-captain Refiloe Jane and striker Jermaine Seoposenwe.

 

Banyana Banyana have brought the Women’s Afcon trophy home.

The champions Banyana Banyana are back home after landing at OR Tambo International Airport on Tuesday morning 26 July 2022.

South Africa won their first ever Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) when they beat Morocco 2-1 in the final held on 23 July in Rabat.

Banyana Banyana managed to complete the tournament undefeated. Even before they arrived back in South Africa, they were promised a bonus for their sporting achievements.

The South African Football Association chief executive officer Tebogo Motlanthe confirmed to Sport 24 that the players would get R400 000 as a bonus. They report that:

“Motlanthe confirmed that the US $500 000 (R8.4 million) Women’s African Cup of Nations prize money will form part of the R400 000 the players and staff will each receive. The organisation, through its president Danny Jordaan, said it would shell out R9.2 million should Banyana Banyana win the tournament.”

“Motlanthe also said the players won’t be made to wait for what is due to them. Banyana, who beat Morocco 2-1 in the final in Rabat on Saturday, went through the tournament unbeaten,” reports Sport 24.

The players were greeted at OR Tambo Airport by hundreds of celebrating soccer fans as well as government officials, including Sport, Arts, and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa.

Banyana Banyana Coach Desiree Ellis also detailed the trials and tribulations that come with being part of the women’s football fraternity. In a Sport 24 piece Ellis is quoted as saying: “When I played for the national team, I lost my job along the way.”

“Just after 2010, I could have gone to the Netherlands for a Uefa B Licence [course]. I wasn’t employed at the time and I had four months left on my car and I had a bond to pay.”

Fans and commentators have now called for pay parity for the female national football team as well as sustainable sponsorship that will secure the development of women’s football and the growth of Banyana Banyana.

Banyana Banyana, The Momentum Proteas and Springbok Women. All three of South Africa’s major sporting codes had competitive matches over the weekend – and it was an underappreciated delight.

While only one of the three teams managed to see a win through, this weekend provided a golden opportunity to see how they all measure up against international competition.

A tough tour for the Momentum Proteas

Cricket in South Africa has been on a downward spiral in terms of popularity over the last decade. Only recently, with passionate people in charge at the top, the tide seems to have turned.

While Women’s Cricket in South Africa turned professional just a few years ago, the Momentum Proteas have been holding their own against the best in the world. No doubt that they will dominate the sport in the not-so-distant future. However, for now, the focus is still on developing players.

The South African ladies spent the last couple of weeks in England, and it’s been a proper grind. Their results have not been as great as they hoped. They are on a run of five successive defeats. That includes a 3-0 One Day Internation series whitewash. They’ve also already lost their T20 series, with the score 2-0 with one match still to go.

England is, at an estimate of Momentum Protea batter, Lara Goodall ahead of their tour, about ten years ahead of South Africa in developing Women’s cricketers. Still, our female outfit can be proud of the effort in the UK.

Springbok Women fall short in Japan

The Springbok Women have quite a way to go before they will truly be able to compete on the big stage. They proved as much this weekend in Japan.

While they secured two massive victories over African oppositions ahead of their tour, 128-3 v. Namibia and 108-0 v. Zimbabwe, they couldn’t come close to doing that same damage against a well-coached and more developed nation.

The massive 100+ victories could also have played a part in their defeat over the weekend, as it seemed like everyone wanted to be the hero. White-line-fever.

They enjoyed most of the possession and played in the right areas, but couldn’t unlock Japan’s defence. That saw them fall to a 15-6 defeat.

The Springbok Women will get the opportunity to make up for the poor performance when they face Japan’s Women again this weekend.

Africa’s new Queens

The only successful team from the weekend, in the most important fixture from the weekend, Banyana Banyana, our Queens. The South African Women’s soccer team were crowned African champions on Saturday, following a stunning Women’s African Cup of Nations (WAFCON) campaign in Morocco.

Relive the pandemonium when the referee blew the final whistle:

 

Banyana finally got their hands on the trophy after featuring in five previous WAFCON finals. They had to settle for silver in 1995, 2000, 2008, 2012 and 2018.

There would be no such heartbreak for them this time, as they played a stellar game from the first whistle. While it took more than an hour to get their noses in front, a second would come just eight minutes later. Hildah Magaia the hero on the night after an important brace.

Morocco got themselves on the board with ten minutes to go in relegation time and made a late push to tie up the game. Luckily, Banyana’s defence held firm, and they could see out the win.

They even received a shout-out from the President himself.