The 2022 Hollywoodbets Super League and Sasol League seasons kick off this afternoon around the country.
The South African Football Association (SAFA) has been hard at work to ensure both leagues run off smoothly this year.
There is a lot at stake this season in the women’s elite league where the process of relegation and promotion will come into play for the first time ever.
Sixteen teams will battle it out to try and wrestle the crown from reigning champions Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies.
CentreCircle.online spoke to SAFA Chief Operations Officer (CEO) Lydia Monyepao about the upcoming season.
The former Banyana Banyana player joined the football association in June last year with the hope of turning things around, with more focus on women’s football.
Monyepao was previously the Deputy Director of Professional Services for TuksSport.
CC: How you see the season panning out?
LM: I think with regards this season, I see a highly competitive 2022 season as compared to last year, given the fact that now we have 16 teams in the league.
This means that the teams are going to be playing more games, but the pressure is higher because two teams will be relegated – so all points count. It’s no longer a matter of saying even if I finish bottom, I’ll still be in the league next year, so it is going to be very competitive at club level.
The added incentive is that following up from our inaugural Hollywoodbets Super League end of the season awards, the players are also going to step up because they also want to be recognized at the end of the year for the kind of football they will be displaying – not that they did not give their all last season, but I think the recognition that comes from the awards are going to give them the encouragement to go the extra mile in their training sessions or as individuals.
I also think this year, there is a lot more on offer, and aligned to that is the fact that a lot of the players also want to end up at Banyana Banyana who will be playing in the 2022 Africa Women’s Cup of Nations in Morocco in July, where they will be aiming to qualify for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
I believe all the players will want head coach Desiree Ellis to see and want to be part of the two major women’s tournaments coming up. This can only mean we are in store for a lot of qualify football this season.
CC: The readiness of the Association for the season?
LM: Look as far as the readiness is concerned, I will say we are 95-97% ready, there are one or two issues that we still need to conclude.
However, the fixtures for the season are out up to August this year. In addition to that, we have discussed with the national broadcaster, the SABC, in terms of what games will be televised. They have selected the matches they will be broadcasting, and we have agreed on them. These will be televised on SABC One or SABC Sport should there be other competitions going on at the same time.
But what is important is that this year we are looking to have more doubleheaders where two games on a Sunday will play at the same venue – at 11h30 and at 15h00 – this can only mean more exposure for women’s football compared to last year. On some occasions there will be three games a day, especially in Gauteng where there are more teams. This all boils down to guaranteeing more exposure of the women’s game around the country for this league in particular.
To add to that, we are also looking to live stream games that will not be on TV – at least two of those game will be live-streamed, with the rest (that are not broadcast) recorded because we want content for all the matches as this really helps us at the end of the season. in terms of statistics and will alleviate challenges we might come across at the end of the season when determining award winners.
The main point is that we are looking for a more improved product with more visibility, more statistics and more access, which will lead to more quality football from the players for the public to see.
CC: Message to the teams?
LM: This is wishing all the teams in the Hollywoodbets Super League the best of luck in the 2022 season. I wish them strength and lots of three points. May the best team win.
By Matlhomola Morake
