Vusi Voetsek: Shame on you Safa and Danny Jordaan

Banyana Banyana jetted off to New Zealand this week for the Fifa Women’s World Cup, safe in the knowledge that they will be rewarded financially for their participation in the global showpiece.

Yet, the fact that it took the ridiculous scenes we witnessed last Saturday at the Tsakane Stadium, and the intervention of government, as well as the Motsepe Foundation, to get these World Cup bonuses secured, casts an extremely poor light on the South African Football Association and in particular its president, Danny Jordaan.

The friendly between Banyana and Botswana at Tsakane Stadium was supposed to be a send off for our ladies, who have done the country proud in qualifying for two successive Fifa World Cup finals. This time they qualified by winning a first-ever Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, matching Bafana Bafana’s achievement in 1996.

Poor pitch

And yet Safa still saw fit to host this friendly on a pitch in as poor a condition as Tsakane Stadium.

Imagine preparing yourself for the tournament of a lifetime, and then picking up a serious injury because of the pitch? It is little wonder this is part of the reason Banyana did not want to play this game.

The opponent too, with respect to Botswana, was not an opponent that prepares a team for a competition as intense as the World Cup. Banyana have Sweden, Argentina and Italy in their World Cup group, and need all the competition they can get to prepare them for a high stakes tournament.

Safa are said to have turned down Germany and Switzerland in preference for this game on Saturday. Why?

Bafana Bafana treatment

This is before we have even get to the bonus row and what materialised on Saturday. With Banyana also wanting guarantees in their contracts over payment, Jordaan and Safa went ahead and organised another team to play Botswana.

In no scenario on earth would Bafana Bafana have been treated in this manner by Safa. Banyana’s World Cup players arrived at Tsakane Stadium and were initially refused entry, and it took Gauteng Premier Phanyaza Lesufi to step in to calm the situation down.

This week, in a press conference, it took the Motsepe Foundation to settle the player-bonus situation, along with a contribution from the National Lottery.

The only contribution from Safa seems to be another sackful of embarrassing incompetence for an organisation that continues with the same leader, despite falling on its face time and time again.

Jordaan loves to tell everyone how much Safa does for the women’s game but the players continue to have to fight tooth and nail for their financial rewards.

Indeed, the disdain Safa appears to have for women’s football showed some seriously ugly teeth last Saturday.

Yes, some strides have been made with the Hollywoodbets Super League, while Sasol continue to back Banyana as sponsors, but when push comes to shove, Safa don’t want to show up, and have to be bailed out by other parties.

Shame on you Safa, you do not deserve a team as good as Banyana Banyana.