A week after the under-17 national team returns from the U-17 Women’s FIFA World Cup, their big sisters, Banyana Banyana emulated their fine form and qualified for the global showpiece set to be held in France next year.
The success of both teams gives us one side of the story. Taking nothing from the great work done by the ladies, South Africa is way behind in terms of world standards.
These teams have qualified for their respective World Cups against all odds. With no competitive women's league in the country, expecting our ladies to be world beaters is just too much to ask.
With minimal resources at their disposal, we ought to celebrate and give these ladies the respect they deserve. The Bafana Bafana national team have failed to qualify for major tournaments despite having all the resources required to be the best.
Even male junior national teams play competitive football week in and week out in the Multichoice Diski Challenge. South African Football Association and the Premier Soccer League have to make it an obligation to all the elite league members to have a coexisting women’s league.
Do you think we need a competitive women’s league?
*This article was written by a Soccer Laduma reader
