FIFA World Cup: Banyana defying odds and making history

When your national football team loses 2-0 in the last 16 of the top global tournament, you could be forgiven for feeling disappointed and slightly depressed.

In the case of Banyana Banyana, the mere fact we’re feeling those emotions at all should, counter-intuitively, be cause for celebration.

Being honest, no-one expected us to get this far (other than, perhaps, coach Desiree Ellis and her fired-up charges), so going through the “normal” emotions of fans of a top team wasn’t really on our minds.

Sure, we could have made more of our chances – but then it is not for nothing that Dutch goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar won the Player of the Match award after saving seven shots, four coming from Banyana superstar Thembi Kgatlana.

We made mistakes, as Ellis conceded.

Had we not made those and had the Dutch keeper not been in such fantastic form, well, you never know…

READ: Banyana coach issues call for more help after World Cup run

Banyana Banyana may not have won the match, but in South African terms they were – and should be recognised as such – winners.

No other national football team has progressed this far in a Fifa World Cup.

This is made all the more noteworthy because some of the Banyana players are part-timers and our country doesn’t have a professional women’s football league as other top-tier nations do.

Ellis has correctly identified this as a major goal if SA is to have a place where young talent can be nurtured.

That talent is there – as every team which came up against Banyana in this tournament will testify. We hope potential sponsors were listening to Ellis.

Given the hundreds of millions poured into men’s football here, backing Banyana Banyana is a sponsorship bargain in terms of money spent versus results.

Our women footballers belong in the world’s top 16 on a permanent basis.