/ 8 August 2008

Fresh ideas needed to market Banyana

Compared to their male counterparts, there is little to despair about in women’s football. And there are a few things that the men’s game can learn from their counterparts.

In the latest Fifa World rankings Bafana Bafana dropped from 67th to 73rd place, and are 16th in Africa, three rungs down from the last ranking.

The national women’s team, Banyana Banyana, are currently ranked fourth in Africa and 67th in the world, an improvement of two notches.

But unless sponsors come on board and the sport’s governors do better, the chances of the women’s game degenerating to the levels of the men’s game cannot be excluded.

Fortunately for the women’s game, 25 players are part of a national football academy at the High Performance Centre in Pretoria. Eight of them are part of the Banyana Banyana set-up.

Fran Hilton-Smith, the Banyana Banyana team manager, says that without an academy, strong competition and players getting exposure to competitive international football, standards will continue to drop.

That is why competitions such as the Phillips Zodwa Khoza Memorial Cup — which kicks off in White City, Soweto, on Women’s Day — are important.

Banyana Banyana have been competitive in continental football. They were runners-up in the CAF Women’s Championship in 2000 and they won the Cosafa Women’s Championship in 2002.

They were also runners-up in the All Africa Games in 2003 and 2007.

The team has still to make a meaningful contribution outside the continent.

Ria Ledwaba, a member of Safa, believes that sponsorship for the women’s game is being sought in the wrong places.

‘You cannot approach Castle for sponsorship, as it is consumed by men.”

She says that women’s products companies such as Pond’s, L’Oréal and Clinique should come to the party.

‘They should be sponsoring us as we use these products to look good and they will get exposure by investing in the game.

‘The way we market the team should be re-looked at.”

However Natasha Tsichlas, Safa’s chairperson on the women’s football committee and former Mamelodi Sundowns chief executive, says such companies have been approached but are not willing to be part of the women’s game.

‘I have raised this with Safa’s chief executive officer, Raymond Hack, who’s in charge of our sponsorship, but have not succeeded in our bid to lure women’s products companies.

‘We need about R40-million a year to run a women’s national league. If we want to get such money we need to have more tournaments like the Khoza Memorial Cup.

‘Hopefully as a result of this tournament we’ll get something positive.”

Hilton-Smith — who expects Safa to announce a new sponsor for the women’s game soon — says tournaments such as the Khoza Memorial attract good players and make it easier for national selectors to pick players.