Swart praises ‘life changing’ Fifa bonuses for Banyana players

Banyana Banyana goalkeeper Kaylin Swart says the fact that football in the country is not professional makes her appreciate even more the financial boost of making it into the last 16 of the 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup.

Banyana’s players will get at least US$60 000 each (R1.14 million) in prize money from Fifa after they beat Italy 3-2 in Wellington on Wednesday to finish as runners-up in Group G. South Africa will now play the Netherlands in Sydney on Sunday for a place in the quarterfinals (kick off 4am SA time).

While some of the Banyana squad do earn salaries at professional clubs overseas, Swart is one of the players in the Banyana team who has a 9 to 5 job, since she needs to put food on the table and doesn’t get paid for playing football.

“It’s life changing for us, these are the numbers that we can only dream of. Obviously women’s football in South Africa is not professional. So, we don’t get paid,” said Swart, after making some fine saves in the Italy match to help her country.

“This is something for us to look forward to. Who could have thought a small country like South Africa, still growing in women’s football, just made history? We just have to enjoy it and hit the training field again and look forward to the next game,” said the shot-stopper.

“I work a full-time job from 9am to 5pm everyday and I train at night. So, it’s tough being a footballer in South Africa. But we do it because of the love of the game and maybe one day we will be professionalised.”

The victory against Italy was Banyana’s first at the World Cup – they lost all three of their games at the 2019 Fifa World Cup and had lost to Sweden and drawn with Argentina before the must-win clash with Italy.

Having been able to secure a place in the last 16, Swart says they hope to inspire more girls to start playing football.

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“This is massive for us as a country and as a football nation. Now obviously a lot of young girls will see us as role models. We have grown so much as a nation and we’ve come so far … we are living our dreams,” she added.

Swart is one of the players in the Banyana team who has a 9 to 5 job since she needs to put food on the table and doesn’t get paid for playing football.

The JVW FC shot-stopper is now in line of getting huge bonuses thanks to a spirited performance that earned the team a place in the knock-out stages after edging Italy 3-2 at Wellington Regional Stadium on Wednesday.

Swart is happy to have been part of the Bayana team that made history and says such moments should be enjoyed, but they still have a job to do with a meeting against Netherlands coming up in Sydney on Sunday.

“It’s life changing for us, these are the numbers that we can only dream of. Obviously women’s football in South Africa is not professional. So, we don’t get paid. This is something for us to look forward to. We made history and who could have thought a small country like South Africa which is still growing in women’s football just made history. We just have to enjoy it and hit the training field again and look forward to the next game,” said the shot-stopper.

“So, I work a full-time job from 9am to 5pm everyday and I train at night. So, it’s tough being a footballer in South Africa. But we do it because of the love of the game and maybe one day we will be professionalised.”

The victory against Italy was Banyana’s first at the global, with the South Africans only making it to the World Cup for the second time.

Banyana first qualified for the tournament in 2019, but were knocked-out of the group stages without winning a single game.

In this year’s edition, Banyana lost one game, drew one and won one.

Having been able to secure a place in the last 16-round, Swart says this a huge accomplishment and they hope to inspire more girls to start playing football.

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“This is massive for us as a country and as a football nation. Now obviously a lot of young girls will see us as role models. If we were before, it will be even more now. They will see us as their heroes and hopefully that’s the case. But, we have grown so much as a nation and we’ve come so far. This is the only thing that we could dream of and we are living our dreams,” she added.