Banyana smiling all the way to the bank after Patrice Motsepe comes to the rescue
Cape Town — Banyana Banyana will be smiling all the way to the bank after their rebellious action over the weekend yielded handsome dividends on the eve of their departure for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australasia.
On Wednesday, the Patrice Motsepe Foundation announced that they would provide each player in the national squad with a top-up bonus of R230 000. The gesture came after the Banyana Banyana were grossly unhappy that their national federation SAFA were not paying them in addition to the staggering R570 000 purse from FIFA.
This unhappiness reached an all-time high over the weekend when a stand-off ensued with SAFA. Ever before has a national team plunged national football into such an embarrassing situation.
With the top-up bonus of R230, the players will bank R800 000 at this stage. This figure could be higher because the national lottery may also step in with an additional top-up.
There was also good news for the support staff members will receive a further R150 000.
Half of the team will fly out to New Zealand on Wednesday night, and the rest on Thursday. The team could not fly as a unit because not enough first-class tickets could be secured for a single flight.
The team will play Costa Rica in a warm-up match on Saturday 15 July.
Banyana Banyana will get their World Cup campaign underway with a Group B opener against Sweden on Sunday 23 July (start 6am, SA time).
Australia and New Zealand are co-hosting the 2023 World Cup from Thursday, July 20. All of South Africa’s group matches will be played in New Zealand.
Africa will be represented by champions South Africa, Morocco, Nigeria and Zambia.
IOL Sport