The 8th of March every year marks the International Women’s Day – a day set aside each year for “commemorating and honouring women’s accomplishments, raise awareness about gender disparities and discrimination as well as promote global support for women,” according to the United Nations.
Every year the day carries different themes, and the 2024 campaign is ‘Inspire Inclusion’ – “When we inspire others to understand and value women’s inclusion, we forge a better world. And when women themselves are inspired to be included, there’s a sense of belonging, relevance, and empowerment. Collectively, let’s forge a more inclusive world for women.” states the International Women’s Day website.
To celebrate International Women’s Day CentreCircle.online spoke to retired footballer Janine van Wyk who has now transitioned to the technical bench of JVW, a club she founded in 2012 with administrator Lauren Duncan, who also doubles as the Team Manager for the Sasol-sponsored Banyana Banyana.
The pair started the team with the aim of identifying, developing, improving, and exposing female football players – and over the years they achieved that goal as they now have over 120 registered players on their database after starting with only 13, culminating in five divisions:
- First team – Blue Diamonds (Hollywoodbets Super League)
- Reserve Team – Sapphires (Sasol League)
- U19 Team – Rubies (Safa Ekurhuleni Regional League)
- U15 Team – Gems (Safa Gauteng GDL)
- Developing Diamonds – Development team
Several of their players feature prominently in the South African U17 and U20 Women’s National Teams, with some in the Banyana Banyana squad.
More recently, one of their products, Cimone Sauls, moved to the nest of the Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies – the reigning Hollywoodbets Super League champions – making a career-defining in her footballing career, and becoming the first ever player from JVW to undertake such a move, which is a clear indication of her individual quality and that of the development she has gone through.
Sauls joined the Blue Diamonds as a tiny 12-year-old and moved all the way up to the first team, even graduating to Banyana Banyana.
“Through our structured programs and philosophy, we guide aspiring players on a journey of growth, instilling discipline, resilience, and a passion for the game. Our vision is to see every young talent flourish, fulfilling their potential and realizing their dreams of becoming professional footballers, equipped not only with the skills to excel on the field but also with the character to succeed in life beyond football,” said JVW in a statement.
They have also become trendsetters, becoming the first team in the Hollywoodbets Super League to secure the signature of an international player, defender Julia Molin from Sweden, who joined last season.
A former captain herself of the African Champions, Van Wyk is well travelled, playing for different teams in the USA, Denmark, Scotland, and Greece. This has given her a lot of experience which she will need as she starts life on the bench of JVW in the 2024 Hollywoodbets Super League season as one of the assistant coaches alongside another former player at the club, Unathi Mabena, with Mitch Stevens as the Head Coach.
Before her retirement, she managed to break a long-standing (11-years) record of national team appearances of 184 previously held by Egyptian, Ahmed Hassam, setting a new one of 185 for both female and male players on the African continent.
The former defender is armed with a top-notch coaching qualification, a CAF B and UEFA B coaching licences.
Van Wyk will be hoping for better success this weekend (Sunday, 10 March 2024) when her side visits the University of the Johannesburg (UJ Ladies) for their second league fixture.
The hosts won 4-1, taking them to the position two on the league table, while JVW is 12th – a very unfamiliar spot for them since gaining promotion into the Hollywoodbets Super League.
CentreCircle.online caught up with her after their first league match of the season against TS Galaxy Queens last weekend (Saturday, 2 March 2024), a fixture they lost 2-0.
Being on the bench for your first official match after retirement, how did it feel like?
It felt natural for me to be on the sideline giving instruction to the team and assisting the head coach Mitch. I thought I would feel a bit more nervous and stranger, but I’ve had a good pre-season with the team as the assistant coach and when I started it felt stranger than my first game did to be honest. Stepping into a coaching role and coaching players who I played with last season, but we all adapted to the situation pretty quick.
Was the role on the bench the way you expected it be?
Yes, I think what i had in mind of what it would be like, i experienced in the first game. Like i said, it felt natural and good.
Pity the results did not go your way, what’s the outlook on the season, taking into consideration some additions you have made into the team?
Unfortunately, not the result we e wanted as a team. We went into the game feeling confident and excited after a very hard working and successful pre-season, but we will continue to build on what we have worked on. It’s still a long journey, so we shouldn’t dwell on the defeat, instead we should look ahead and work towards the next game to get our first victory. The additions we have brought in have been a pleasure. Replacing some players that have left, with those who have a little more maturity in their game, we feel will benefit us in the season ahead.
The departure of Cimone Sauls must be exciting: in a sense that she was developed at JVW and now she is with the biggest club in the country – which speaks volumes about your development structures.
We definitely feel the move for Cimone was a good one. Cimone has been with JVW since the age of 12 and has come through the player pathways that JVW offered her. She felt that she needed a different challenge in a different environment, and we encouraged her move as we feel she needed to take that on to further improve and develop as a prominent player.
Are there any more Cimone’s in the pipeline?
Plenty more! The future is bright for women’s football in South Africa, the game is growing at a rapid pace around the world, and we are glad to be witnessing that growth in our lifetime because if you asked me a couple of years ago, I would have seen a different picture.
By Matlhomola Morake
