Kaizer Chiefs boss Motaung hints club might buy a women’s team status

Kaizer Chiefs marketing and commercial director Jessica Motaung has indicated they may have to buy an existing status in the Hollywoodbets Super League to finally be able to launch a women’s team.

Sundowns have already won the Caf Women's Champions League and been runners-up in the competition's first two years and other big South African teams like Chiefs and Orlando Pirates are under pressure to launch their own women's teams.

“It’s an exciting time for us to consider but I think let us take baby steps because we have a lot to do at domestic level. Let’s finalise our team for the league in South Africa then obviously the Champions League and play our role in Africa and in the world,” Motaung said.

“But this is certainly a space that Chiefs is excited and passionate about and I am excited to announce our team in the future. We are in negotiations and discussions and I am excited about what the future holds for us as Kaizer Chiefs.

“If we want to play at Hollywoodbets level we have to [buy a team]. It would be great to start a home team but it has implications.

“But we are excited with what we are doing and the negotiations that we are having. The kind of partnerships we are embarking on and I will leave it like that.”

Motaung, who is a member of the Confederation of African Football’s (Caf) Organising Committee for Women Football Standing Committee, added that women’s football in South Africa needs to evolve and be commercialised.

“I think it is not sufficient — the league needs evolution, it needs to change, clubs need more rights to invest in and get more partners involved in.

“Those are the discussions we must have with Safa [the SA Football Association] to say how do we have more autonomy in terms of having more sponsors?

“What are the rights available to us and how do we change the model and make it work for all of us, so that we have clubs that are more sustainable?

“Commercialisation of the game is seen as critical. Fifa have commercialised the game of women’s football and women’s football at that level where it has its own sponsors.

“Why can’t Caf have its own sponsors for women’s football? Those are the things that we have to look at. And locally, we have to strengthen that as well and I am excited the future.”

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