PSL clubs eager to comply by having women teams

It seems Premier Soccer League clubs are ready to follow the footsteps of fellow top-tier division outfits Mamelodi Sundowns and TS Galaxy in establishing women’s football teams.

Last year, CAF announced that teams with no women’s side will not be allowed to participate in continental club competition from 2023.

Several clubs like Marumo Gallants, Swallows and Kaizer Chiefs have now vowed to establish women’s teams to comply with that. 

“There is a football team in Limpopo playing in Polokwane and we are in talks with them so we can incorporate them into our team,” Gallants' spokesperson Rufus Matsena confirmed to Sowetan yesterday.

“The plan is there. We want to see if we can get all the logistics in place so we can plan it properly."

Swallows CEO Sipho Xulu also confirmed that they have plans in place to have a women’s football team. “Not yet, but we are putting our plans together. The planning has been discussed. So, it is just a matter of putting it together,” Xulu said. “Depending on the circumstances, we want to be ready when it becomes a compulsory requirement.”

Following the successful hosting of the Sasol League National Championship in Durban at the weekend, Safa president Danny Jordaan said he would be meeting with the PSL soon to see how far teams are to establish the women’s team.

“The big clubs in the world all have women’s teams. Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United, and other top teams,” Jordaan told the media.

“It is just that in this country where the big professional clubs have no women’s team. So, there is international compliance for CAF and Fifa that we must also follow. Those are the issues we will have to deal with when we meet the PSL.”

Jordaan also confirmed that Chiefs marketing director Jessica Motaung indicated that they would look at it. “Jessica was present in the discussion in Cameroon during Afcon and she said they will look at that. We will make a follow-up meeting, but these two clubs, Chiefs and Orlando Pirates, have had women’s teams before,” he said. 

“You must know that the majority of football supporters these days are women."

Meanwhile, Meriza Jaftha, an exciting attacking midfielder, who plays for Royal Wizard in the Sasol League, believes her talent would have been noticed by professional teams if there were enough women’s teams in the country.

“I started playing football in 2007 when I was in grade 7. This is my first time in the national playoffs, so that’s a big achievement in my career,” she told Sowetan.

“My dream was to play for Banyana Banyana one day, but I’m not sure if that will happen since I’m 27 years old now and we didn’t qualify for the Hollywoodbets Super League.”