The University of the Western Cape played a big part in the liberation struggle. Today, UWC is fighting another battle in trying to promote women’s football in SA. The key strategy to uplift women’s football at UWC has been to pump in more resources — even more than what the men receive. This decision was influenced by the team’s performance, said Mandla Gagayi, the university’s head of sport.
“When I joined UWC in 2015, the first thing I looked at was funding, how much women get compared to their male counterparts,” Gagayi said. “Given that our women’s footballers bring greater value than men’s, we channel more resources to women’s football. They are the biggest performers next to rugby.”
The UWC squad has essentially become a feeder team for the national age-group teams, the University Sports SA (USSA) women’s football team and SA’s national women’s team, Banyana Banyana.
In June, five UWC students (four former players and one current player) were picked for the Banyana Fifa Women’s World Cup squad and seven students (three former and four current players) represented the USSA women’s team at the University Games in Italy.
Among those who played at the World Cup in France was reigning African women’s player of the year Thembi Kgatlana, who has become one of the hottest properties in the world game, as well as Bongeka Gameda, Jermaine Seoposenwe, Leandra Smeda and Kaylin Swart.
“The women’s football programme has been there since the early ’90s but it only really started to get serious in 2010,” said Gagayi. “Before that, it was just considered a recreational sport. From 2010, we realised we have the talent, and we have to respect and acknowledge our women footballers as equals. Former coach Nathan Peskin did a fine job in creating that platform.”
UWC is the third-ranked women’s football team in SA and attracts players from all over the country. The university does not spend big money on scouting, nor does it lure players with massive bursaries. Instead, a family dynamic has been instilled that cares for players on and off the field.
“We have established good relationships with different clubs. People phone us to have a look at different talent,” said Gagayi. “We don’t offer big bursaries like other universities but you get a full-course scholarship. The players know that with us, they will come into a great environment where we take care of their medical and nutritional needs as well. “We are a family. It’s not just about sport; we want to see you eventually leave with a degree as well.”
Banyana striker Kgatlana said: “UWC is the best option for young women footballers who want to focus on sport as well as academics. The university is at the forefront in terms of developing women’s football stars. If you look at the number of players they produce for Banyana Banyana and the USSA team, they are doing an outstanding job.
“They have the best sports director in SA in Mandla, who influences you to work hard on the pitch as well as in the study halls. The university puts in an unbelievable effort to make sure that sportsmen and women also focus on their careers outside football.”
But much more still needs to be done to uplift women’s football in SA.
“The problem is our mentality,” said Kgatlana. “The people in important positions are males so they will first look after the males. We’d have a lot more progress if we had females in the boardrooms making those decisions. Males can’t make decisions about females. They don’t know what we go through. Everyone talks about developing women’s football but they aren’t putting the money where their mouths are. When you say Banyana deserves better wages, put your money where your mouth is, corporate South Africa!”
UWC coach Thinasonke Mbuli said participation in a proposed national professional league would give UWC even more pulling power to lure the cream of female football talent to Bellville.
Mbuli, who is a Banyana assistant coach as well as coach of the USSA women’s team, is a bit of a draw card herself, having worked with some of SA’s best players. “We have done very well in terms of recruitment over the last few years,” she said.
“The players recognise that UWC gives them the best of both worlds in terms of education and sport. Now that the pro league is just around the corner, we will probably see more players looking to play their football at UWC.”
Mbuli believes the league — due to kick off this month, though everybody involved is waiting for confirmation from the South African Football Association — will boost Banyana after the team’s disappointment at the World Cup in France. The South Africans lost their matches against Spain, China and Germany, all countries with highly successful women’s leagues. SA, by contrast, does not have fulltime professionals.
“For any country to keep producing quality players, they have to compete at the highest level,” said Mbuli. “The national league will be the highest level of football in South Africa. The difference between us and the rest of the world is we don’t have a professional league set-up. If we can get our players playing highly competitive games week in and week out, we can reach that next level.”
UWC is at the forefront of promoting the women’s game in SA, but the struggle continues.
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