ATENKOSI TSOTSI | Banyana have no business being in Turkey at this tragic time
Safa should have joined teams who pulled out of Women's Cup
Banyana Banyana's participation in the Turkish Women's Cup in Turkey showcases Safa as a tone-deaf organisation and this could hurt the team’s relationship with SA.
Desiree Ellis' side are currently in Antalya, Turkey, for the exhibition tournament to be staged in the resort city of Alanya. The team and officials landed in the earthquake-hit country on Tuesday and Wednesday this week.
They will play against Uzbekistan tomorrow and Slovenia on Tuesday to make up for the lost two matches they were supposed to play with Turkey and Venezuela, who have both pulled out of the competition. Jordan is the third country to withdraw.
The involvement of Banyana in the tournament has been met with mixed feelings by the public at home, who question the logic of playing football in a country in the midst of deep mourning following a devastating earthquake. The death of the quake has surpassed 40,000 mark in Turkey and neighbouring Syria.
When media houses reached out to Safa for elaboration on why Banyana will take part in the tournament, the officials' phones had been switched off, while their communications team evaded enquiries.
When they finally released an update on why Banyana will be in Turkey, they hid behind a Fifa letter giving the tournament a go-ahead. Avoiding accountability for a big decision revolving around a national team and using Fifa, which is probably one of the most questionable sports organisations in the world, for damage control and taking a flight to Turkey is not too helpful by Safa.
In more attempts to calm the fires over Banyana being in Turkey, the Safa media team sent out videos of Ellis, co-captain Andile Dlamini and Safa's technical director Walter Steenbok saying they arrived safely in Turkey. The trio add they were welcomed warmly and that are happy to be there.
Those videos looked staged, as there was no show of emotion, sympathy and empathy towards what the people of Turkey are going through. Steenbok even had to look at the person holding the camera to be reminded that he has to pass on their condolences.
As much as they can try to justify Banyana partaking in the Turkish Women's Cup, Safa has hurt the brand of the team that has grown enormously, including negative public perception.
Banyana taking part in the tournament perhaps indicates that SA is not standing in solidarity with Turkey and the world after the tragedy. The moment the host Turkey pulled out of the tournament, Banyana should have done the same, but Safa did not get the hint.
The country does want Banyana to do well in the upcoming Fifa Women's World Cup later this year and understands that preparation is key. However, a tragedy has happened, and it does not make sense to take part in the tournament.
This paints Banyana and those who pushed for them to take part in the tournament as people who put football before life. The lives of those affected directly and indirectly by the earthquake don't matter to Safa, it seems.
Of course, we are not certain if all Banyana players are there on their own volition. Even as they may have had reservations, we may not know because this is a World Cup year, and any sign of dissent could lead to victimisation.
Also, could the reports that Safa had already accepted R16m from Fifa to prepare for the World Cup forced them to send our team there? Whatever the case, it makes no sense to continue with the tournament after such devastation.