Banyana Banyana striker Jermaine Seoposenwe says it was important for the team to show a united front as they challenged the South African Football Association (SAFA) before departing for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
The African champions open their World Cup account against Sweden in Group G on Sunday morning, followed by matches against Argentina on 28 July and Italy their last group match on 2 August.
The selected players for the global showpiece did not play their farewell match against Botswana on 2 July at Tsakane Stadium as they stood their ground against the Association in a payment dispute and uniform related matters. The team also cited the conditions of Tsakane Stadium leaving SAFA to put together a makeshift team to honour the fixture, which eventually lost 5-0.
The Motsepe Foundation and Ithuba National Lottery saved the day with their donations as a result of the team standing their ground, which was confirmed via a press conference before the team flew to New Zealand, when it was announced that the financial issues had been sorted.
Seoposenwe answered questions from iDiski Times writer Lethabo Kganyago in the current edition of the newspaper, insisting the unity the team showed was important because otherwise it may have created problems within camp even before the World Cup started.
She also said the unity will show on the pitch because as a team they are secure in knowing that they have each other’s backs, adding that they should be treated equal to Bafana Bafana, especially when they have achieved big feats like winning the continental title.
“I think it’s super important to stand together as a unit. I think, if we didn’t stand together that would have even created even more issues within the team itself, within the players and that’s not what you want going into a tournament,” Seoposenwe told iDiski Times.
“I think we knew what we deserve as the African Champions. I think people forget what we have achieved and it is not an easy feat to do. We are always mentioning the Bafana team that won the [1996] AFCON but Banyana has won the WAFCON as well so we need to be treated exactly like Bafana, like we have mentioned equal work, equal conditions.
“Because a lot of us play overseas the way we are treated by our teams is what we expect in the national team and even better. This is the highest level that you can play at and we need to be treated with the highest level of respect and be given what we deserve. So for us to stand together as a unit whether you play locally or whether you play internationally it doesn’t matter.
“We are all the same when we come to the national team and we want the same level of treatment. So it was very important and I think you could see the strength of the team and that unity will show on the pitch. That unity will translate on the pitch because now players know that they have each other’s backs and we’ll fight until the death for each other”
“So it just shows where we’ve come from and where we are going and we will hold the Association accountable for everything that we feel needs to be happening for Banyana, everything we feel we deserve. And it’s not like we are coming from a place of greed or anything but we deserve better conditions as the women’s national team.
“We are equals to Bafana. We shouldn’t be treated less than them so I’m really, really happy that the team stood together and fought the good fight. I mean without fighting for what you believe in nothing will change and we want change and that’s why we stood together as a unit.”
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You can read Seoposenwe’s full interview with Kganyago where she also talks about Banyana’s targets in edition 113 of iDiski Times available on the website.
Source Link Banyana Star Makes Strong Bafana Statement
