SA changing narrative of women’s game
THE ability to harness the vast potential of untapped talent has underpinned the growth of local women’s football and the subsequent rise of Mamelodi Sundowns as CAF Women’s Champions League winners.
The South African Football Association (Safa) have created sustainable opportunities to ensure the game grows exponentially at all levels.
Three-time SA champions Sundowns play in the 14-team Super League, SA’S premier league, now in its 11th season.
Lower down, the Women’s League, comprising of 144 teams in nine provinces, taps into potential far and wide. There are around 3 000 registered players at this level.
Down at the grassroots level, the Safa Regional Women’s League is played in 52 Safa regions. Competition at this level occupies a critical space in football development and acts as a feeder for the highertier teams, and eventually Banyana Banyana.
These leagues are serviced in various ways to ensure players rise through the ranks and find their way into the senior teams. Some of
the better players could also end up abroad, and in the past three years, there have been 29 players at foreign clubs in Europe, China and the US.
The two outstanding talents have been Banyana stalwarts Thembi Kgatlana who plays for Spanish Primera Division club Atletico Madrid and Refiloe Jane, who plies her trade at Serie A club AC Milan.
All tiers of women’s football are serviced with dedicated funding, some of which come from the 2010 World Cup Legacy Trust, development programmes and
human resources. There is a constant input of up-to-date coaching information and materials.
Banyana coach Desiree Ellis is a member of the Fifa Technical Advisory Group (TAG), chaired by Jill Ellis, the England-born American who is an authority on women’s football coaching.
Ellis ensures that the know-how on coaching, refereeing, and sports science as it affects women’s football filters down to all levels of the game.
All of this has helped to lay the foundations for teams like Sundowns and Banyana to stand out on the most expansive stages. Sundowns have just won the Champions League and Banyana this year beat traditional African powerhouses Ghana (3-0) and Nigeria (4-2) in Lagos.
A few years ago, this would have been unthinkable.
Uniquely, Safa have also gone to great lengths to ensure that all national teams (Basetsana, Bantwana, etc) all have women as head coaches. It has been immensely encouraging for women to step forward to guide ladies teams at all levels of competition.
Also unique is that all women’s matches have only women referees, and some have been vastly impressive at higher levels. Recently, official Akhona Makalima handled the blue-ribbon opening clash at the inaugural Women’s Champions League.
Makalima, the first Fifacertified woman referee in SA, has also graduated to the ranks of the PSL. She is totally at ease at this level, even though players preface their loud appeals with: “Mr Ref”.
All in all, South Africa’s support systems, vision and objectives have all contributed to changing the narrative of SA women’s football, be it as players or administrators.