Women’s Football is back in action in South Africa.
Three different events are taking place where women’s football has taken centre stage.
In Durban, the 2021 edition of the Sasol National League Championship kicked off today with nine provincial teams battling it out for top honours of being crowned national champions.
The matches are played behind closed doors and the winners will pocket two-hundred-thousand rand (R200.000.00), while the runners up will walk away with one-hundred-thousand rand (R100.000.00).
Also, the top two teams will be promoted to the Hollywoodbets Super League for the current (2022) season.
The King Zwelithini Stadium in Umlazi is playing host to the annual women’s tournament which runs until 13 February – it was initially scheduled for December 2021 but was postponed due to Covid-19.
In Johannesburg, both Banyana Banyana and Bantwana are in camp for national team duties.
The South African Senior Women’s National Team will face Zambia in an international friendly match on Saturday, 12 February in Lusaka.
The clash is to help the two nations prepare for the upcoming African Women’s Cup of Nations qualifiers.
The Sasol-sponsored Banyana Banyana come up against Algeria away on Friday, 18 February with the second leg set for South Africa on Wednesday, 23 February.
Zambia will lock horns with Namibia.
The winner will join hosts Morocco, and Uganda, who have become the first country to qualify for the 12-nation competition, that is set to be played from 2 – 23 July 2022.
The tournament doubles as the African qualifiers for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023.
The four top-placed teams in Morocco will represent the continent at the world football showpiece.
Bantwana are in a training camp where head coach Simphiwe Dludlu has selected 29 players – these will be trimmed down ahead of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup qualifier against Kenya in March.
This will be the 7th edition of the World Cup and is set to be played in India in October this year.
The competition was postponed last year due to the corona virus pandemic.
The first leg against Kenya will be played 12 March 2022 and the reverse fixture is set for 19 March.
By Matlhomola Morake
