South Africa Women's World Cup team sits out game in pay dispute as 13-year-old player called in
A standoff between South Africa’s Women’s World Cup squad and the national soccer association over pay and other issues has forced officials to field a makeshift team of little-known players that included a 13-year-old for a game against Botswana
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.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 that 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 it 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. 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 of the South African players 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, who was standing next to some of the players outside the team hotel in the video, said their complaints had been “dismissed” by SAFA. He was also seen in discussions with the players and accompanied 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 “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.
The South African Broadcasting Corporation reported that players were also annoyed that their farewell game before the World Cup was held at the Tsakane Stadium, which holds just 5,000 people and 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 World Cup squad members standing around outside their team bus at a hotel shortly before the game was due to kickoff. SAFA CEO Lydia Monyepao was seen speaking with the players.
South Africa won the Women's African Cup of Nations last year for its first major title, yet the players have often complained that they aren't given the recognition or benefits that the men's team gets.
South Africa is due to play Costa Rica in New Zealand on July 15 in its final World Cup warm-up game. South Africa plays Sweden, Argentina and Italy in the group stage at the World Cup, starting against the Swedes on July 23.
___
AP coverage of the Women’s World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-womens-world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports