The simple reality is that as long as facilities in women’s football’s powerhouses remain streets ahead of SA’s, there will be a gap in competitiveness for Banyana Banyana with teams outside Africa, striker Hildah Magaia says.
Banyana Banyana’s friendlies against Australia and Brazil exposed inadequacies in the team’s makeup. In the three matches, the senior national team only managed to find the back of the net once and conceded 13 goals.
SA, who stormed to their maiden Women’s Africa Cup of Nations Cup (Wafcon) victory, bravely outclassing hosts Morocco 2-1 in July, had a reality check after that with 3-0 and 6-0 friendly defeats to Brazil in SA, and a 4-1 against Australia in Surrey. The results indicate that much needs to be done ahead of next year’s Fifa Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Desiree Ellis’s side will compete in Group G, alongside Latin American powerhouse Argentina and European giants Italy and Sweden. Sweden, ranked second in the Fifa rankings, were finalists in the US in 2003, while Le Azzurre have reached the quarterfinals twice. Banyana will be hard-pressed improving on their group stage exit in their first World Cup in France in 2019.
“I think we first need to make the supporters understand that our standard of football compared to Brazil, Australia or the European teams is not the same,” Magaia, the brace-scoring heroine of the Nations Cup final, told TimesLIVE Premium.
“But we also have to find success as a team. Because if we don’t give the fans the validation that we can do more, they won’t come to support us. I believe if we can continue the hard work we put in at Afcon, they will go to the stadiums to support us.”
Magaia stressed that the professionalism of the women’s game in SA remains the biggest factor preserving a gap in class. The SA Football Association’s four-year-old Hollywoodbets Super League sees the top 16 teams compete, but the haves still dominate and the competition is one-sided. Ultimately it is miles off counterparts in Europe, Asia and America financially.
The 2022 Cafa Women’s Champions League silver medallists, Mamelodi Sundowns, defended their Super League title last weekend with still several matches to spare, though competition remains for the other top five spots. The export of more players to more competitive leagues around the world seems to be the main avenue to give Banyana a fighting chance as they seek to be competitive at global competitions.
Former Tshwane University of Technology and Tuks player Magaia, 27, who turns out for Sejong Sportstoto in Korea after a spell at Morön in Sweden, has a good idea of international standard football and leagues.
“There’s still a huge gap,” she said. “When I moved to Sweden I realised the intensity is so much higher than in SA, and the facilities. They have everything they need, and we don’t have those things. We have some, but we are not there yet. That is a huge thing for us because if we don’t have development then we won’t get there.
“Get those facilities, get younger kids to play in the different teams. We don’t have development in each team, that is where the problem is. We need young players to come after us, but where are they?
“If you look at rural areas, especially where I come from [rural Mpheleng in Limpopo], they don’t have those things. Even a simple thing like a ball, so how are they going to get there when they don’t have the simple things? If we can focus more on development, we can get there as a country.”
The 2023 Women’s World Cup runs from July 20 to August 20. SA kick off against Sweden on July 23.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.