The Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) has learnt with disappointment about reports that players for the South African Women's Senior National Team (Banyana Banyana) will each receive a R55,000 bonus payment for reaching the finals of the Women's African Cup of Nations (WAFCON).
The Commission believes this amount is unfair for a group of hard-working female athletes who have performed excellently to fly the South African flag high at this tournament. The CGE has in the past held discussions with the South African Football Association regarding the unequal pay structures between men and women's teams, and we will continue to engage different sport associations and federations on the matter. It is our understanding that players in the senior national men's team receive different bonus amounts when they participate in tournaments of the same level, and this should be a cause for concern in the sport and athletic fraternity.
This unfairness cannot be allowed to continue. To the best of our knowledge, the South African Football Association (SAFA) had committed to paying Bafana Bafana players R250,000 each had they qualified for the upcoming FIFA Men's World Cup in Qatar. This is against the backdrop of their appearance fee, camp money, food allowance, etc. The CGE is failing to understand why Banyana Banyana players are not remunerated on the same scale with their male counterparts for all the matches won to reach the finals on Saturday in Morocco.
The CGE is aware that women's football is not attracting as many sponsorships as the men's, and we view that as yet another form of systemic gender inequality in our society. We are of the view that it is the duty of the office bearers at SAFA to source more funds to compensate the women's team for their sterling work. The Department of Arts, Culture and Sports could have also been approached before making the bonus payments for the women's team, as SASCOC have previously done following the outcomes of the Olympic games. The women's team is the country's pride and joy, and the players and technical team deserve better treatment and more respect.
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The country's women football structure is not as solid as the men's, which leads to most active female players falling into abject poverty while their male counterparts continue to earn stable salaries at their respective clubs. The CGE is calling on SAFA to re-think the bonus structure for Banyana Banyana and bring it on par with remuneration structures for the men's team.
The Commission with continue to engage with SAFA leadership to address this thorny issue of pay gap between the national teams, and gender transformation within the South African football.
