JOHANNESBURG, Aug 18 (Reuters) – South Africa’s surprise success in reaching the knockouts at the Women’s World Cup has highlighted their inferior pay and resources when compared with the historically less successful men’s team.
South Africa’s women’s team, known as “Banyana Banyana”, reached the last 16 at the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand earlier this month — the first time either the men’s or women’s team had achieved the feat.
The achievement, however, was partly overshadowed by a spat between the team and the South African Football Association (SAFA) in the leadup to the tournament over bonus payments.
The SAFA said last month that the dispute had been resolved after a charity stepped in with a donation, but the row focussed attention on discrepancies in the pay and bonuses of the men’s and women’s teams.
In a 2022 investigation into the bonus structure for Banyana Banyana, South Africa’s Commision for Gender Equity found that “players are not remunerated on the same scale (as) … their male counterparts”.
For instance, South Africa’s women’s players received only a 55,000 rand ($2,885) bonus for reaching the final of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, which they went on to win.
Each player on the men’s team by contrast would have received a 250,000 rand bonus if they had qualified for the World Cup in Qatar in December — which they did not.
“We’re coming from very disadvantaged homes, we become breadwinners,” Portia Modise, former Banyana Banyana captain, told Reuters after playing a friendly in the township of Soweto. “Not getting paid (enough) makes life difficult.”
Differences in the pay for male and female soccer players is not unique to South Africa. FIFA announced in March that $152 million in prize money would be on offer for the Women’s World Cup, three times the amount offered at the previous tournament and 10 times the one before that.
That figure compared with $440 million for the men’s tournament in Qatar.
Linda Zwane, vice president of SAFA, told Reuters: “We appreciate everything that (the women’s team) went through, and we learned,” adding that he hoped this meant they could focus on the next tournament instead of “squabbling about issues of payment”.
Africa exceed expectations with incredible run at Women’s World Cup
By Mark Gleeson
Africa’s run at the Women’s World Cup has been nothing short of extraordinary at the end of the group phase on Thursday as debutants Morocco joined Nigeria and South Africa in the last 16.
Morocco had been thrashed 6-0 by twice champions Germany in their opening match of the finals but bounced back to beat South Korea and Colombia to secure their passage into the knockout stage of the tournament.
Their surprise run of results led to the group stage elimination of the highly fancied Germans in one of the biggest shocks of the tournament.
The upset came some 24 hours after South Africa had snatched a dramatic stoppage time winner to oust Italy, and also after Nigeria had advanced from Group B following two draws and a win over co-hosts Australia.
Even Zambia, who had been eliminated after two successive five-goal thrashings, were able to depart with a win, overcoming Costa Rica in their last group game.
Africa’s chances of getting a team through to the knockout phase were always going to be better with the expansion of the finals’ field to 32 teams and the continent’s representation increased to four.
But even then, there was little expectation for the quartet of African teams as they travelled to Australia and New Zealand.
Nigeria have not missed out of any of the nine Women’s World Cups but their dominance in Africa had been ended as they struggled at last year’s Africa Women’s Cup of Nations and only finished fourth.
South Africa won the continental title but their preparations were dogged by arguments over money as the players went on strike last month.
As for Morocco, the first Arab nation to compete, they looked out of the depth as they produced a horror defensive display and looked every bit the 70 places they were ranked below Germany in a rude World Cup welcome.
RESOLVE
But they showed inspiring resolve to come back and win a top two place in Group H, albeit with some assistance as Germany failed to beat South Korea on Thursday.
“You’ve always got to factor in the magic of the World Cup,” their coach Reynald Pedros had predicted before the game.
Morocco shook up the traditional order when finishing fourth in Qatar last December in Africa’s best showing at the men’s World Cup and the women now have a chance to also break new ground.
No African team has ever won a knockout game at a previous Women’s World Cup but there will be high hopes now that the continent’s mazy run can continue, even if the odds are stacked against them.
In the last 16, South Africa face the Netherlands, Morocco will be up against France while Nigeria will take on Euro 2022 champions England.
“They’ve shown that nothing can stop them if they put their mind to it and they play for each other,” South Africa coach Desire Ellis said of her players ahead of Sunday’s tie in Sydney against the in-form Netherlands.
Editing by Pritha Sarkar
Nigeria into World Cup last 16, Zambia bows out with victory
By JerryOwilli
Nigeria is in the FIFA Women’s World Cup Round of 16 after holding the Republic of Ireland to a goalless draw on Monday.
The Super Falcons came into the match needing only a draw to secure progression into the next round.
The game, played in high tempo, saw both sides come close on several occasions but all efforts proved fruitless as the West Africans became the first African side to qualify for the knock-out stage of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Nigeria, the runners-up from Group B, will now face the winner of Group D in the knockout stage. England, Denmark and China all have a chance to win Group D.
Elsewhere, Zambia ended its World Cup campaign with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Costa Rica.
The Zambians lost their opening two games against Japan and Spain and could not advance.
Despite knowing they would not move on in the tournament, the Copper Queens were hungry for a positive result, displaying an energetic performance throughout the game.
Lushomo Mweemba, Barbra Banda and Racheal Kundananji each scored a goal apiece.
Banda was named the Player of the Match.
Morocco stuns Colombia to advance to last 16 at Women’s World Cup
By DavidOchieng Mbewa
For the first time ever, three African teams will participate in the knockout stages of the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Morocco stunned Colombia 1-0 in their final Group H match in Perth on Thursday to qualify. With the win, Morocco joins Nigeria and South Africa in the Round of 16.
Despite the loss, the South Americans will also advance as Group H winners.
Anissa Lahmari scored the only goal of the game on the stroke of halftime from close range when Sakina Ouzraoui Diki squared the ball to her after Ghizlane Chebbak had her penalty saved by Catalina Pérez.
The Atlas Lionesses, like their male counterparts at the men’s World Cup in Qatar, then mounted a spirited defensive effort to keep out the Colombians and secure the win.
Moroccan goalkeeper Khadija Er-Rmichi also pulled off a series of outstanding saves denying Daniela Montoya and Mayra Ramírez an equaliser.
Even after weathering the barrage of Colombian attacks, there was still a tense wait after the final whistle as the players awaited the result of Germany’s game against South Korea. Germany could only draw 1-1 and crashed out of the group stage for the first time in their history.
Morocco (72), who are making their debut at the Women’s World Cup, are now the lowest-ranked team to make it to the knockout stage of the tournament. It is a remarkable turnaround for a team that lost its opening match 6-0 to Germany but followed it up with consecutive 1-0 victories to progress.
Morocco is the second African nation to reach the knockout stages of successive men’s and women’s World Cups since Nigeria did so in 1998 and 1999.
Morocco will play France on August 8 for a place in the quarterfinals.
(Story compiled with assistance from wire reports)
Women’s World Cup: South Africa stun Italy to advance to the Round of 8
MARTY MELVILLE/AFP or licensors
By Rédaction Africanews with AFP
South Africa will reach the last 8 of a Women’s World Cup for the first time in their history after beating 2019 quarter-finalists Italy 3-2 in Wellington on Wednesday.
The South Africans, 2nd in Group D (4 pts), will face the Dutch, 1st in Group E (7 pts), in the next round. Leading 1-0 after just eleven minutes, the South Africans scored twice (2-1), before conceding a second goal, synonymous with elimination (74th). But Thembi Kgatlana gave her team victory in added time, taking advantage of yet another Italian defensive error.
Zambia earns first Women’s World Cup win with 3-1 victory over Costa Rica
Abbie Parr/Copyright 2023 The AP. All rights reserved
Lushomo Mweemba scored the fastest goal at this year’s Women’s World Cup, and Barbra Banda added the 1,000th goal in tournament history, as tournament newcomer Zambia earned its first ever win with a 3-1 victory Costa Rica on Monday.
The victory sent Zambia home from its first World Cup on an emotional high. Both teams had already been eliminated from the knockout stage before the match.
The Copper Queens’ opening goal, the first in their history, came after just 2 minutes and 11 seconds off Avell Chitundu’s corner kick. Mweemba lofted a volley into the roof of the net over goalkeeper Daniela Solera.
Banda scored the milestone goal in the 31st minute on a penalty kick. The referee gave the penalty after the 23-year-old striker appeared to be taken down in the box by Katherine Alvarado.
The referee handed out five yellow cards and called a total of 30 fouls in the fast-paced match.
In the 47th minute, Melissa Herrera knocked a cross over the line with her chest for Costa Rica’s lone goal. Costa Rica later saw both a potential penalty and a goal taken away by offsides calls.
More than 8,000 spectators were at Waikato Stadium, which holds 18,009.
-Key moments-
Zambia wasted no time against Costa Rica, scoring its first-ever tournament goal just 131 seconds into the match. Mweemba’s one-timer changed the momentum of the match as the Copper Queens controlled much of the first half and got their second goal on Banda’s penalty.
Rachael Kundananji sealed the victory three minutes into injury time. Banda’s through ball set up the forward, who scored easily.
-Why it matters-
Zambia returns home having won a match in its first appearance at the Women’s World Cup. It ended the tournament in third place of Group C with three points.
Las Ticas are still in search of their first World Cup win after failing to get a victory both this year and in 2015, their only other appearance.
-In their own words-
“I was confident, but at the same time I was nervous, but I just had to have courage because I was carrying thousands of people back home so it was an honor for me,” Banda said about her penalty kick.
“We knew yesterday it was going to be an open match, a hard match, and those who made fewer mistakes won the match,” Costa Rica coach Amelia Valverde said.
-What’s next-
Zambia’s next match is scheduled for Oct. 23 against Mali in the second round of Olympic qualifiers.
Costa Rica bounces out of its second Women’s World Cup in fourth place in the group.
Additional sources • AP
African nations reaffirm closeness to Russia through football
AFP
By Philip Andrew Churm with AFP
Despite being diplomatically isolated as a result of the Ukraine conflict, Russia faces little hostility from African leaders, many of whom have gathered in St Petersburg for the Russia-Africa summit where many top footballers are set to play a gala match together.
Melvin Camden is among them and is grateful for the opportunity.
“I would like to start by thanking you for issuing visas to us, so that we could participate in the championship,” he says.
“That is to say, they still love Africans and they want to ensure that we are united together.”
Russia has been banned from all major international competitions but the country has drawn up an intercontinental student tournament on the summit’s sidelines.
Coach of the Cameroon international student team William DeAnda thinks it is good for the countries to work together.
“The population of Africa needs a good relationship between Africa and Russia because it is more practice,” he says. “It is more real than the other colonial relationship that we have with countries in Europe or America.”
The first day of the forum includes a session on using sports as a bridge of friendship between Russia and Africa.
Russia’s sports project, the World Friendship Games, scheduled for September 2024, will also be showcased at the forum.
Andrey Stukalov, president, National Student Football League says: “This is a good platform to revive international competitions, so we decided to start with Africa.
“We decided to invite these four African universities, I think that in the near future we will consider a similar version of the Russia-Asia, Russia- Latin America meeting, and it will be just as interesting. And so we could gradually resume that influence and that activity internationally that we had before Covid.”
The sports programme in St Petersburg will also feature a diplomats’ match, where employees from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and African embassies will compete together.
South African World Cup team pledges to play following pay row
AP Photo
By Philip Andrew Churm with AP
South African football players say they are committed to playing in the Women’s World Cup following disputes around player and support staff pay.
The team captain Refiloe Jane has assured fans back home they are fully focused on their upcoming tournament matches.
She confirmed that all disputes with the South African federation had been settled before the tournament’s start, including the guarantee of $30,000 to each player that had previously been promised by FIFA.
“All the contractual disputes that we had were resolved,” Jane said at a news conference ahead of Sunday’s opener against Sweden. “We came into New Zealand having sorted all our problems. And when we left South Africa, we assured the nation that everything has been in order. So coming into this tournament our focus has been just focusing on football.”
Earlier this month, the majority of the national team did not play a warm-up match against Botswana in protest that FIFA’s group payment of $30,000 was not included in their contracts, in addition to concerns around the condition of the stadium in which they were scheduled to play.
The South African Football Association cobbled together a team of local club players, the roster for which included a 13-year-old player and lost 5-0.
The pay dispute ended when president of the African Football Confederation and the continent’s first Black billionaire, Patrice Motsepe, agreed to contribute $320,000 to Banyana to be equally distributed to the World Cup players.
In the same news conference announcing the donation from the Motsepe Foundation, the South African Football Players Union noted it also negotiated a deal that would financially benefit backroom and technical staff.
In the last week, after Banyana Banyana’s arrival in New Zealand, the South African Football Association released statements contradicting the players’ union previous statement regarding support staff salaries.
“We have committed to every single cent that was raised for the players including the FIFA prize monies that were put on the table,” said SAFA on July 16, 11 days after the mention of support staff. “As far as the staff is concerned, we committed to their assignment contracts to pay their daily fees as per the contract signed and daily allowances, over and above the fees.”
The decision to move past the disputes was of great importance to the players, Jane said.
“It gives us time to focus on what really matters, which is to play football for our nation and to represent the country,” she said.
World Champion Tobi Amusan charged with missing drug tests, Risks Suspension
Ashley Landis/Copyright 2022 The AP. All rights reserved
By Rédaction Africanews with AP
World-record hurdler Tobi Amusan says she has been charged with an anti-doping rules violation for missing three drug tests in the span of 12 months.
The Nigerian posted the news on her Instagram account Tuesday and said she would fight the charges.
“I am a CLEAN athlete, and I am regularly (maybe more than usual) tested by the AIU,” she wrote, in referencing the Athletics Integrity Unit, which oversees doping issues in international track and is the agency that charged her with the violation.
At the world championships in Oregon last year, Amusan stunned a still-arriving crowd by setting the world record with a time of 12.12 seconds in the semifinals of the 100-meter hurdles.
She came back about 90 minutes later to win the gold medal in 12.06, but that time did not go into the record books because there was too strong a tailwind.
“When I watched the record, I was like ‘Whoa, who did that?'” Amusan said of her reaction upon seeing her time pop up on the scoreboard.
Amusan went to college at Texas El-Paso and had been training partners with Nigerian UTEP alum Blessing Okagbare. Okagbare is serving an 11-year ban for multiple doping violations, stemming from a federal investigation into an El Paso doctor who pleaded guilty to distributing human-growth hormone and other banned substances.
Missing three doping tests can result in a two-year ban, though exceptions can be made for different circumstances.
Amusan said she was tested “within days” of her third missed violation and had faith the matter would be resolved in time for her to compete at next month’s world championships.
Women’s World Cup player payments will be distributed by federations
SAEED KHAN/AFP or licensors
By Rédaction Africanews and Agencies
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said that he plans to engage with member federations to make sure that the $30,000 payments designated for every player at the Women’s World Cup reach the athletes.
Speaking at a news conference on Wednesday ahead of the tournament’s opening match between hosts New Zealand and Norway on Thursday, Infantino said there are complications including residency and taxation that are best handled by federations.
Infantino said that the Women’s World Cup is expected to generate a half-billion in revenue — despite the prize money boost — and the organization will break even. For the first time, the commercial rights for the Women’s World Cup were sold separately from the men’s tournament.
“I think we have been taking some groundbreaking moves here and decisions and is by far not yet the end of the story. We are looking to work together with the associations and the players to have a smooth World Cup in this respect as well. And then as of the 21st of August, we will start to focus on the future as well, and on this matter as well. And again, also this is a path also this is a is a journey. And as part of the agreement that we have been able to reach in Europe with the European countries, with the European Broadcasting Union, for example, I want to take this just as an example, but it’s something that will accompany us globally as part of the agreement. We have added a very significant element on the promotion of the women’s game. We want to see all over the world, at least, I don’t know, one hour a week of women’s football streamed in the main broadcasters. Because that’s the only way you can promote the game.”
The payments will go to the individual federations, which are in turn expected to pay the players — but there is no mechanism to directly pay the players the sum, which could be life-changing for some.
FIFA had previously confirmed that the 732 players participating in the World Cup will be paid at least $30,000 each. The paycheck rises if teams do well, with each player for the winning team earning $270,000.
The $30,000 payment is a significant payday for many players: The average annual salary worldwide for women who play professionally is $14,000.
FIFA’s agreement means that half of the total World Cup prize money fund of $110 million will be paid to the players in the 32 teams. The prize pool is more than three times the $30 million prize fund FIFA paid out at the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France.
The players’ union, known as FIFPRO, helped push for FIFA to dedicate a percentage of the prize money to the players themselves. The union sent a letter to FIFA in October on behalf of players from 25 national teams calling for more equitable conditions and prize money.
The prize money fund is still far below the $440 million paid to the men who played in the World Cup last year in Qatar. Infantino said the goal is to equalize the prize money by the 2026 men’s World Cup and the 2027 women’s edition.