It’s supposed to be Banyana Banyana’s moment in the sun after five previous heartbreaks, but their success in the Women's Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) has been shrouded by destructive debate around equal pay, and in some instances, insulting talk about the standard of women football.
There’s no reducing Banyana’s success to anything than the momentous achievement it was: It took hard toil, tears and sweat to finally lift that trophy last week in Morocco, when they beat the hosts in a tense final that had all of us watching on TV wondering if it would again end in disappointment.
But as they arrived with the gold medals to a rapturous welcome at OR Tambo International Airport on Tuesday, even those who previously were not aware of the Wafcon jumped onto the bandwagon of turning Banyana’s success into some political battle, throwing wild comparisons around their remuneration.
The fact, however, is that struggles in women’s football will not be overcome through emotion and illogical decision-making merely to gain likes and retweets. These struggles are historical, starting with the fact that as we speak, not all local teams have a women’s division.
It was only this year that CAF increased the Wafcon’s winners' prize to $500,000 (R8,4m), a move applauded by many when Patrice Motsepe announced it just before the start of the tournament, but one which is still way short of the R83m ($5m) Senegal won in Cameroon earlier this year.
Only last year, CAF launched the women’s CAF Champions League, when the equivalent competition for the males has existed since the 60s. So, to expect that Banyana’s victory would herald some revolution overnight, is purely ill-thought and shortsighted.
Whereas we can expect politicians to ride on Banyana’s success and throw some populist rhetoric - and public funds - as is the norm, the harsh reality that the team members will still face challenges long after this euphoria has passed. Some of them will return to local clubs which will make them take a long bus trip from Johannesburg’s Park Station to fulfill a coastal fixture.
Banyana’s victory did lift the nation, and it couldn’t have come at a more perfect time: when there was practically not a lot happening on the sports front, this being off-season and with Fifa having shifted the World Cup in Qatar to November.
SA should capitalise on this by making the right calls to Safa and government to invest in the women’s game to unearth another Noko Matlou, Refiloe Jane, Hildah Magaia or Maserame Motlhalo.
Implementing CAF’s stipulation of mandatory women’s team for participants in the interclub competitions would be a great start, but it would be even more ideal if Safa and the PSL instructed teams to enlist some as a matter of course.
Remunerating Banyana for last week’s exploits in Morocco is a must, but that can never be used to close years of neglect and inequalities in the women’s game. And as it happens in sports, bringing in an audience naturally leads to more sponsorship income and revenue.
It’s great that Banyana have seized the opportunity to gain backers, including opportunistic politicians who had never heard of them before, and plain mischief-makers who indulge in senseless shows like Uyajola99, or whatever it's called, than watch our national team.
But the challenge now is to sustain that support. Follow the players and their teams, know where they are playing, watch on TV, get them the basics which are suited for a professional.
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