Every professional team should have a women’s side, says Benni
Former Bafana Bafana star and Cape Town City coach Benni McCarthy believes the only way to grow women’s football in SA is if football bosses made it mandatory for every professional team to have a women’s team.
Banyana Banyana have won several Cosafa Cup tournaments, played in almost every Women’s Afcon showpiece, and been to Olympic Games in London 2012 and Rio 2016 and took part in their first World Cup last year.
There are 10 players from the women’s national team playing abroad — Bambanani Mbane (Belarus), Refiloe Jane (Italy), Thembi Kgatlana (Portugal), Linda Motlhalo (Sweden), Regina Mogolola (Serbia), Zanele Nhlapo (Albania), Rachel Sebati and Letago Modiba (both Turkey), Amogelang Motau (USA) and Ode Fulutudilu (Finland).
Even with the Safa National Women’s League in place, women’s football in SA is still struggling in terms of sponsorships and crowds.
“A few years back I said to someone that the PSL or Safa should make it mandatory that every professional club must have a women’s football team,” McCarthy told The South African Football Journalists’ Association (Safja).
“That is the only way women’s football is going to grow and it’s going to get better.
“Women’s football is probably the strongest that SA has.
“They qualify for everything, so I think we need to take some stuff that they do well and put it into our own game, but also give back by every PSL team having a women’s football team.”
The former Blackburn Rovers player said women footballers should became fulltime professionals as well.
Though they might not be on a par with their male counterparts when it comes to salary, it would be a start to improve their league.
“I also suggest that they should make women’s football play curtainraisers to [matches] of the senior teams, then they also get exposure to bigger crowds and playing in front of crowds.
“Imagine how it would be for those women playing in front of those big crowds?
“Of course it’s nerve-racking, but that is the exposure that they want.
“That is the opportunity that they relish.
“I think that is what PSL or Safa should be looking into, letting women’s football play curtainraisers to the big games.
“Back in the day it used to work. Why can’t we make it work today?
“Back then the under-23 teams used to play curtainraisers to the main event and there was never a problem with the pitch.
“Actually it was a major success because I myself came from playing curtainraisers for the big events because I got my little taste of playing in front of so many people and that prepared me for that big stage.
“So when my chance came I took it to full use. I think the same should be done for women’s football as well.
“I know maybe they think we don’t want to play curtainraisers but that is a start, that is where you start preparing yourself bit by bit, getting used to playing in those conditions and getting used to playing in front of major crowds.”
McCarthy said coach Desiree Ellis’s job would be much easier because she would be exposed to more players as curtainraiser matches would also be televised.
“So that will be good for women’s football. These are my thoughts, my feeling and my views,” he said.