A standoff between South Africa’s Women’s World Cup squad and the national soccer association over pay and other issues forced officials to field a makeshift team of little-known players.
The make-shift team included a 13-year-old for a game against Botswana on Sunday.
The game was supposed to be the final warm-up match for the African women’s champion on home soil before it headed off to the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. But this game turned into an embarrassment on and off the field as the entire World Cup squad sat out the game.
South Africa’s team of replacement players hastily pulled together from local clubs lost 5-0 to Botswana at the Tsakane Stadium near Johannesburg. They were 4-0 down at halftime in a game that was delayed for an hour at the request of the South African Football Association, SAFA, so it could scramble and put together a team.
South Africa coach Desiree Ellis said one of the players she had to draft in, was aged 13 years. In a post-match interview, she didn’t comment on the problems.
The World Cup players only arrived at the match at halftime, when they emerged to watch from the stands.
SAFA also didn’t immediately comment on what sparked the standoff, but Thulaganyo Gaoshubelwe, the president of the South African Football Players Union, which represents the interests of soccer players, said the incident was partly caused by poor pay for the players.
“They are fighting for their rights,” Gaoshubelwe said in a video posted on his union’s official Twitter account. “SAFA doesn’t want to include money in their contracts. We must fight for the rights of these players.”
Gaoshubelwe, standing next to some of the players in the video, said their complaints had been “dismissed” by SAFA. He was also seen in discussions with the players. He would then accompany them to the stadium when they turned up at halftime.
Gaoshubelwe claimed SAFA president Danny Jordaan was to blame for the standoff.
South Africa Sports Minister Zizi Kodwa said in a statement he would be meeting with the players’ union on Tuesday. He stated he would like to hear the “serious concerns expressed by the team”.
The meeting would be about the players’ “welfare” and issues related to their contracts, Kodwa said.
The squad is due to fly to New Zealand in two groups on Tuesday and Wednesday.
SABC reported that the players were also annoyed that their farewell game before the World Cup set for Tsakane Stadium. The stadium, which holds just 5,000 people, is not a high-profile soccer venue.
The players viewed that as a mark of disrespect for them from their national soccer association, the SABC reported.
SABC and other television networks broadcast images of the squad members standing outside their team bus at a hotel. This was shortly before the game was due to kick off. SAFA CEO Lydia Monyepao was seen speaking with the players.
Banyana Banyana won the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations last year, their first-ever major title. The players have however often complained that they aren’t given the recognition or benefits that the men’s team gets.
South Africa is to play Costa Rica in New Zealand on July 15 in its final World Cup warm-up game. They play Sweden, Argentina, and Italy in the group stage at the World Cup. Their first game is against the Swedes on July 23.
