The South African women’s national team is in the midst of a dispute with the Football Association ahead of the start of the World Cup on 20 July. The root of the problem is the difference in treatment between the sexes. In particular, the amounts of bonuses for competitions and according to objectives. It was this situation that prompted their recent strike. Fortunately, the strike was resolved thanks to the goodwill of Patrice Motsepe and, above all, his money via his foundation. But it only postpones the problem until after the World Cup.
Gender inequality in bonus payments (South Africa)
The foundation set up by the President of the Confederation of African Football and billionaire businessman Patrice Motsepe intervened on Wednesday to resolve the pay dispute between the South African players due to take part in the Women’s World Cup and their federation.
To achieve this, the Motsepe Foundation has put $320,000 (nearly 294,000 euros) on the table. This windfall is to be shared between the 23 players taking part in the Women’s World Cup. Federation officials informed the public at a press conference in Johannesburg.
As a reminder, the root of the problem largely concerned the disparities in participation and results bonuses between the men’s and women’s teams.
The South African players’ union, which represents the interests of football players, said at the weekend that the players had no contract or written agreement specifying exactly how much they would be paid to play for their country at the World Cup.
But with the money injected at the last minute, the players have promised that they will go to the tournament (World Cup) in Australia and New Zealand.A happy outcome!
The Bayana-Bayana regret a lack of consideration for them
This deep-rooted dispute forced the entire team to boycott their warm-up match against Botswana on Sunday. Another problem was raised by the players as a reason for boycotting the match. It relates to the difference in treatment with their male counterparts. Indeed, their last match was scheduled in a small, little-known stadium outside Johannesburg.What’s more, it’s not good enough to host men’s league matches in South Africa. Yet it was deemed suitable for the reigning African champions. This did not please the Bayana-Bayana, who were further offended by the long-running problem of bonuses.
As a result, they boycotted the match, after which they received the support of their former players.Faced with this situation, the officials had to put together a makeshift team to avoid postponing the match. The replacement team was thrashed 5-0.
