Johannesburg – Two of the country’s World Cup-bound teams are facing turmoil in their respective organisations.
The South African Football Association (Safa) was left red-faced when its Banyana Banyana World Cup squad boycotted before their send-off match with Botswana, and Netball SA has been rocked with corruption allegations with the national team set to participate in this month’s Netball World Cup.
The Banyana Banyana squad is set to partake in the Women’s Football World Cup scheduled to take place from July 20 to August 20, 2023, but contractual disputes collapsed, resulting in the boycott.
Safa chief executive Lydia Monyepao said she thought it was important that all parties were in agreement to halt a standoff during the world event.
She said she understood where the team was coming from and was caught between balancing the demands of her new role and helping women’s football get the same recognition as the men’s team.
The DA’s Tsepo Mhlongo said Safa should publicly disclose the breakdown of match fees per player as well as the incentive structures in place for advancing to subsequent stages of the tournament.
“Transparency regarding match fees and incentives is paramount. By making this information public, Safa can demonstrate its commitment to fairness and equality in women's sports. Such transparency will also help foster trust among the players, the association, and the public,” said Mhlongo.
The EFF Student Command (EFFSC) saluted the fearless players who refused to partake in what EFFSC described as organised crime disguised as a soccer match.
“We stand with them and reaffirm their call to be treated equally as the men's football club Bafana Bafana, which does not win anything,” said the EFFSC.
Legendary South African female footballer Portia Modise took to social media, saying the fight the current crop of players was fighting was not only for themselves but for generations to come.
"We have a female CEO; we have a female coach. Listen, stand tall; the fields have burnt, now there is no hiding," she said.
Modise urged the women’s team to fight.
Meanwhile, with a few weeks to go before the Vitality Netball World Cup 2023 is set to take place in Cape Town later this month, there have been allegations of corruption that have rocked the mother body, Netball SA.
The DA’s Veronica van Dyk said the party received feedback from the Department of Sports, Arts, and Culture that they would bring the transgression in Netball SA to the attention of Minister of Sport and Recreation Zizi Kodwa, after the party’s request for an urgent investigation into Netball SA matters.
“The DA not only expressed deep concern over the troubling revelations brought to light in a documentary released by AfriForum two weeks ago, which shed light on critical issues within Netball SA and its president, Cecilia Molekwane, but we further take note of a letter addressed to Sascoc by the civil rights movement urging Sascoc to investigate the public allegations against Netball SA.
“The DA supports Afriforum in holding SASCOC to account,” said van Dyk.
The civil society organisation AfriForum has written to the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) demanding that an independent investigation be launched against Netball SA.
The organisation says this comes after a documentary it produced entitled The True State of Affairs in Netball SA turned the spotlight on allegations of victimisation, sexual offences, and mismanagement in Netball SA.
AfriForum said since the release of the documentary, more whistle-blowers have approached the organisation with further information that supports the allegations.
“Netball is one of the sports in South Africa that has incredible potential, but due to mismanagement and political agendas, this potential is not being fully exploited,” said the organisation.
Ronald Peters, manager of AfriForum Sport, said it was clear that the information disclosed in this documentary had caused great unhappiness among the public.
“People are now requesting that steps be taken to investigate these allegations and hold the guilty parties accountable,” said the organisation.
“The Netball World Cup is around the corner, and the official hashtag of the World Cup is #TakingNetballBackToThePeople.
“Therefore, it is very positive for us to see that people and the private sector are standing up against the alleged injustices in Netball SA and in South African sport as a whole. This is the only way we can ensure a better future for sportspeople in South Africa,” says Peters.
The Star