We can’t be going back to the issue of non-professional women’s sports and how female athletes have to risk their employment because they have to be representing the country. I know of a lot of female athletes that have opted to hand in their boots, sneakers and hockey sticks because they have to live and couldn’t afford to lose more money from the unpaid leave they take when they travel to represent South Africa in international competitions.
The big question is, what are the federations doing in order to protect the talent that we are losing every day? When will there be professional sporting codes for women – women who will play their favourite sport for a living? So far, it’s only Cricket South Africa who have really taken a stand to helping the Momentum Proteas become a competitive side in the world. The contracts they have with the 14 players, will ensure that they work towards bettering their game for the good of the green and gold.
I feel Netball South Africa could make the Brutal Fruit Netball Premier League grow at a faster pace. Yes, the weeks have increased to eight, but for players to wait longer to get paid the tournament match fees, needs to end. Some teams even share the player of the match fee amongst themselves because they know the actual match fees will take months before it arrives. This is what stunts the growth of netball in South Africa, preventing it from competitively matching other countries on the world stage. We have talented and committed players but how much more will they endure the struggles they face in the sport for the country?
This goes for women’s football too. I don’t feel the South African Football Association are doing much in their corners either. For how long have they been singing the professional league chorus? In the process, three sponsors, Vodacom, Sanlam and Absa dropped Safa in sponsoring leagues. Sasol cannot do it alone and with results not forthcoming, how long before Sasol drops the senior national women’s team too?
As South Africans, we should be ashamed that the women’s Under-21 hockey team has to individually fundraise to go to the Hockey Junior World Cup in Santiago, Chile from 24 November to 4 December. To wear the symbol of the nation, they have to fly the flag of the country? Where is corporate South Africa when all this is happening? Where is the department of sports? How do we expect to compete against the best in the world when we struggle to prepare for these big competitions? Maybe national teams should take a break till we get our house in order.
Right now Varsity Women’s Football is taking place in Potchefstroom, where eight teams are at the Potch Sports Village – the same accommodation Spain used while training for the 2010 FIFA World Cup (which they went on to win). Competitions such as this, that are aired on television, not only promote the sport, but are a chance for those athletes to move and play in other countries.
Women’s sport may be suffering, but companies such as Varsity Sports are doing everything possible to turn that around, one kick, one goal, one victory at a time. Each tournament that contributes to the greater good of women sports should be commended and supported, even by the different federations and the department of sport.
By Busisiwe Mokwena, Daily Sun and Sunday Sun Sports Reporter
