SAFA, the Ministry of Sport, Arts and Culture and the Motsepe Foundation have announced that Banyana Banyana will receive additional bonuses for their participation at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup set to be staged in Australia and New Zealand.
The announcement was made on Wednesday, 5 July, at Hilton Hotel, Sandton ahead of the women’s global elite tournament set to take place from 20 July to 20 August in New Zealand and Australia.
The Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Zizi Kodwa, revealed that everything is in order. The national team will depart on Wednesday and Thursday as planned after they found the right solution.
He had to make a last-minute call last night [Tuesday, 4 July] to CAF president Patrice Motsepe who was kind enough to make an additional donation.
“We must present our case on behalf of this national pride to say they too deserve what Bafana Bafana deserve, what the Springboks deserve,” said sports minister Kodwa.
MINISTER OF SPORT, ARTS AND CULTURE ZIZI KODWA ON BANYANA BANYANA
This was to ensure that the players are happy as the government and SAFA further promised the players that they will work on the issues after the World Cup.
To add, the government and Motsepe wanted to ensure that the incident that happened on Sunday doesn’t repeat itself. Banyana Banyana protested over the non-inclusion of the $30,000 (R560,000) appearance fee promised by FIFA to each player in their contracts.
The standoff between Banyana and SAFA lasted for several days. The national team did not play their send-off match against Botswana at Tsakane Stadium on Sunday. They cited poor pitch conditions and wanted their financial demands met.
However, the Motsepe Foundation, founded by CAF president Patrice Motsepe and his wife Precious Motsepe, came to the rescue. They pledged R6 million in additional funds to resolve the dispute.
Precious Motsepe stated that “this moment is about us paying lip-service when it comes to gender equality”. She insisted that it has mostly been “rhetoric” without action.
“It takes every single one of us to ensure gender equality becomes a reality,” added Precious. She also urged Banyana to continue to “speak up” about gender inequalities.
In addition, Ithuba; National Lottery Commission also donated R2 million towards the support of Banyana.
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SAFA president Danny Jordaan stated that in future they should plan early the matters of contracts once the final squad is announced.
Two unnamed companies have also volunteered to assist the national team, however they are still ironing minor details.
Jordaan also believes Banyana is ready for the competitions and has all it takes to reach the next round.
To add, he wishes the that all the African continent representatives [Zambia, Nigeria, South Africa and Morocco] can replicate what Morocco did at the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar as they reached the semi-finals.
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