Safa chief operating officer Lydia Monyepao says the task of turning the Hollywoodbets Super League into a professional and commercial league is a huge one and needs full-time dedication.

Since the national women's league was birthed from the 2010 Fifa World Cup Legacy funds in 2019, there's been significant growth in the women's game on the domestic scene. The partnership with the betting company has also aided Safa in that the participating teams get grants so they are able to cover the costs of running a club and help their players. 

Recently re-elected Safa president Danny Jordaan said that by 2026 they want a fully professional women’s league and the players should be able to sustain themselves with what they will be earning from the game. 

Speaking to Sowetan on the sidelines at the LaLiga and Nielsen Sport, Extra Time event, Monyepao elaborated on what it will take for women's football in SA to turn professional and make it commercially viable.

"It requires someone full-time, we have to find someone who is solely focused on the professionalisation of women's football. That's something they're doing in the UK and Spain, we also have to come up with a different strategy that focuses on the professionalisation of women's football," said Monyepao. 

"It's a matter of putting resources there, this one requires someone who is focused on that. It's a huge task, to be honest, you need someone who will go out there to engage partners and stakeholders, try to get more sponsors to back the game; and show them the return on investment they're bound to gain should they get involved," she said. 

Monyepao, who is a former Banyana Banyana international, revealed to online publication New Frame that she had to hang up her boots so she could focus on her studies and auditing career as football was not paying the bills. 

Decades after Monyepao retired from playing, players are still not able to get a proper livelihood from the game, with many having 9-5s and studying.

"We still have a long way to go," she said. 

"That's going to take time. We don't have many players that are dependent on what their clubs are giving them because the amount is too little. There are only two or three clubs that are paying players 'salaries'. That money is not as much as someone from the PSL or NFD would be making. We have a long way to go, we have a lot of players that are working full-time jobs and students."