On Monday night at the Stade d'Honneur d'Oujda in Morocco, Banyana Banyana will start the defence of their Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) title, but with not much support from South Africans back home.
Banyana are about to embark on an important footballing mission of trying to conquer the continent but, unfortunately, the silence from South African voices back home is deafening.
The way most South Africans have disappointedly turned a blind eye towards the senior women’s team, one wouldn’t say they are about to defend their title in Morocco.
If it were Bafana Bafana or the Springboks, the volume would be at full blast everywhere in the country. This lack of support for Banyana talks to the pedestrian attitude South Africans have about women’s sport.
Banyana players not only need our support and adulation when they achieve success in tournaments, they need us now more than ever as they take on Ghana and later Tanzania and Mali in Group C
It is about time that citizens and corporates, who go all out during big rugby and football events, show our ladies some love because they deserve it.
Support for the senior women’s team must be a shared responsibility from all South Africans, but most of the blame must go to officials who have failed to come up with campaigns and roadshows to drum up support for the team.
Minister of sport Gayton McKenzie was on a public platform during the week announcing that the second Test between the Springboks and Italy on Saturday in Gqeberha would be televised on SABC. But he completely missed out on an excellent opportunity to ambush the event and call on South Africans to rally behind the ladies in Morocco as they finalise preparations for the Wafcon.
If Banyana go all the way and defend the trophy, there will be singing and dancing at the airport when they come back, with loud noise from supporters and politicians stealing the show with empty speeches.
Banyana players not only need our support and adulation when they achieve success in tournaments, they need us now more than ever as they take on Ghana and later Tanzania and Mali in Group C.
Let’s turn up the volume and show coach Desiree Ellis and the ladies that we are fully behind them so that they can take on the tournament with boosted confidence knowing the whole country is behind them.
Where is “stronger together” when you need it?
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