Women’s sport must be treated as an equal partner in the economy. Delwyn Verasamy/M&G
The economic value of women’s sport has long been underestimated, despite clear evidence that this sector yields both social and financial returns.
The global sports economy has seen revenue from women’s sports surpass the billion-dollar mark in 2024, a staggering 300% increase since 2021, showing that audiences and brands are paying attention. In South Africa, this momentum is visible in the rising profile of Banyana Banyana, the Protea women’s cricket team and the national netball squad. These teams are not only winning trophies, but also expanding fan bases and creating marketing opportunities.
Yet, the realities of inequality remain stark. In 2018, Banyana Banyana players earned about R4 000 for a draw and R5 700 for a win, while their male counterparts, Bafana Bafana, pocketed R30 000 and R60 000, respectively. This eight to 10-fold gap persisted even when women’s football teams achieved greater continental success than men’s.
Such disparities go beyond pay — they reflect structural inequalities where women’s sports are treated as secondary, despite generating growing public interest and international acclaim.
Participation levels also illustrate this divide — 65% of men in South Africa actively engage in sport compared to only 50% of women. While women are equally enthusiastic as spectators, with 60% of female fans reporting increased interest in women’s sport over the past five years compared to 46% of men.
Leadership representation reinforces the problem. In cricket, women make up just 13% of the executive board, in football around 19% and in rugby approximately 36%. These low figures signal a deeper issue — decisions about investment, sponsorship and athlete welfare are still largely made by men, leaving women sidelined from shaping the very industry that depends on their labour and talent.
Policies exist to redress this imbalance — the white paper on sport, the Transformation Charter and the National Sport and Recreation Amendment Act — but implementation has been slow and uneven. For example, the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee’s elite athlete support programmes still reflect a gender imbalance, with only 30% of female athletes and 15% of female coaches benefiting from funding in recent years.
Despite this, there are encouraging signs that the tide is turning. The South African Football Association Women’s League secured a R17 million naming-rights deal with Hollywoodbets, creating financial incentives such as R2 million for league winners and R1 million for runners-up, as well as bonuses for top players and coaches.
Cricket South Africa has also introduced a professional domestic structure that increased contracted women players from six to 11 per top-tier team, which will create more stable careers for female athletes.
Furthermore, public investment is gradually being directed towards school and community programmes, with close to R250 million earmarked for women’s sport at the grassroots level. These initiatives are not only levelling the playing field but also expanding the economic value of sport by nurturing new audiences, developing professional pathways and diversifying sponsorship opportunities.
Women’s sport is good business. Female fans engage differently, often through social media and community-based platforms, offering sponsors fresh avenues for brand growth. Professionalisation creates jobs, inspires young athletes and builds stronger national teams, while the broader societal impact includes healthier communities, increased empowerment and a more inclusive cultural identity.
As President Cyril Ramaphosa has noted, South Africa’s sportswomen are showing the way to a more equal society and this vision needs to be matched by tangible investment. Equal pay, expanded media coverage, professional contracts and leadership opportunities are not acts of charity, they are economic strategies that unlock value for the nation.
As Women’s Month reminds us of the long journey towards gender equality, women’s sport stands as both a mirror of persistent inequality and a frontier for transformation. South Africa has the talent, the fans and the potential; what is missing is the decisive commitment to treat women’s sport as an equal partner in the economy. To ignore this opportunity is to waste one of the country’s most dynamic engines for growth and empowerment.
Sontundu Aphelele is a BCom student at Walter Sisulu University and a national volleyball player for the University Sports South Africa squad.