The African Cup of Nations (AFCON), the continent’s most important international men’s association football competition, is less than two months away. FORBES AFRICA offers some insight into what one can expect in the build-up to this much-anticipated exhibition.



Few times, if ever, has the favorite going into an Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament emerged after a month of intense action hoisting aloft the trophy.



But two years ago, at the last edition in Cameroon, Senegal were certainly a sentimental favorite because they had come so close on several previous occasions but never won, and so when they emerged as victors, it was to many neutrals’ delight.



As reigning African champions, that will make them among the fancied sides this time round, which if historic precedence is followed, will not be welcome.



No team since Egypt in 2008 has been able to hold on to the African crown and Ghana and Cameroon are the only other countries able to retain their title.



The 34th edition Cup of Nations will kick off on January 13 and is being hosted in the Côte d&#8217;Ivoire – a second time for the West African country after the 1984 finals.



Then it was an eight-team tournament, completed in the space of 14 days, but Africa’s continental championship is much evolved. This time round, the Ivorians host 24 teams at six different stadia, four of them newly built for the tournament, which will have a bevy of top stars on display, with the ever-increasing number of African players now featuring in the top leagues in Europe.



Their clubs are not happy they will be absent for up to a month but FIFA rules dictate national teams enjoy preference on the players’ service over clubs when a continental championship, like AFCON, is hosted. Ideally, the players should not have to suffer the tug of club versus country.



But this tournament was moved back six months because of concerns over the rainy season in the region and is now being hosted slap bang in the middle of the league season to the chagrin of the clubs who now lose the services of their best African players.



The concerns over the weather should have been raised when the Ivorians first bid to host the finals but are genuine and have already caused much consternation long before a ball has even been kicked.



The newly-built showpiece Stade Olympique d&#8217;Ebimpé in Abidjan, where the final is due to be played on February 11, turned into a paddling pool in September when the Ivory Coast played Mali in a friendly and the heavens opened. There was no proper drainage and eventually the game had to be called off to the embarrassment of the Ivorians.



There were pitch problem at the last Cup of Nations in Cameroon too, to the consternation of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and they can ill afford a repeat this time, seeking to assure that the playing surfaces are of a quality that ensures a good footballing spectacle. French experts have been called in to make sure all the pitches are ready for carpet football once the event gets underway.



If all conditions do turn out to be top class, it is tournament that has the potential to be a top quality event, given the strength and depth of the protagonists.



Of the 24 participating nations, half have won the tournament previously. This time there are no newcomers but some tricky minnows with a proven pedigree for creating carnage. Equatorial Guinea and the Gambia, for example, were giant killers at the last finals and return again with the ability to upset the established pecking order.



Hosts Côte d&#8217;Ivoire, who have won twice before in 1992 and 2015, have a talented squad but are a little short of tournament temperament. They will look to the former England international Wilfred Zaha to lead their hopes and he certainly has the x-factor to lead them to the winners’ podium.



Morocco, on the back of their heroic exploits at the 2022 World Cup, will be the most fancied side but teams from Arabic-speaking North Africa have a long history of struggling when AFCON is hosted south of the Sahara.



Egypt did win in Burkina Faso in 1998 and again in Ghana 10 years thereafter, but Morocco have pointedly failed time and again in the continental championship, particularly when they have been hailed as pre-competition favorites.



Perhaps this will be their time given the confidence they collected in Qatar, where the 2022 World Cup took place, when they became the first African, and Arab, nation to reach the semi-final.



Algeria will have a heavyweight selection of French-born players from the massive Diaspora that they have across the Mediterranean, while Egypt are ever dangerous, particularly if Mohamed Salah is on song. Egypt lost narrowly in the last Cup of Nations finals to Senegal on post-match penalties.



It has been a decade since Nigeria last won the competition but this could be their opportunity again with a squad brimful of attacking talent. It is led by the striker Victor Osimhen, who finished top scorer in Italy last season where he helped Napoli to win the league.



Often times, however, the players’ ambition is let down by the foibles of their administrators, whose incompetence might make things tough for Nigeria to realize its massive potential.



The tournament is being played in Abidjan (two stadiums), Bouake, Korhogo, San Pedro and Yamoussoukro with all but two of the venues built specifically for the tournament.

South Africa v Morocco – Africa Cup of Nations

The Pride Of African Football: A Look Ahead

Young African football stars are embracing the opportunity presented by Major League Soccer in North America as a stepping stone to the best clubs in Europe. FORBES AFRICA was in St Louis in Missouri in the United States for these exclusive interviews, and the numbers are big.



The recent arrival of Lionel Messi has distorted the image somewhat but the reality of Major League Soccer (MLS) in North America is it’s a league of rapidly growing potential, with increasingly promising talent and a stepping stone to the top leagues of Europe.



Football is finding increasing traction in a market where it used to be considered a minor sport and the MLS is changing its image from a league that was seen as the parking lot for fading superstars coming to the end of their careers and looking for a final pay day, to one where the dreams of young players can be realized.



As a result, many young Africans are embracing the opportunity.



“To be honest, I had doubts in my mind because I thought the style of football was not anything like we do back home,” Njabulo Blom, the 23-year-old South African international midfielder who was sold by Kaizer Chiefs to St Louis City at the start of the season, tells FORBES AFRICA.



“I know that the MLS is not rated among the best leagues in the world but the standard of football is very good. It’s not what people think outside,” Blom adds from St Louis, the Midwestern city in the United States (US) where the local club have just joined the MLS and are making waves.



The numbers back him up. As per Forbes, the values of MLS franchises have jumped, since 2019, by 85% on average, with defending champions Los Angeles FC now valued at around $1 billion, breaking into the top 20 in the world. Another example is the value of Seattle Sounders has increased from $405 million to $850 million in just four years, with the team recently becoming the first American side to participate at the Club World Cup.



Revenues have reportedly grown continuously, by 16.6% on average per year between 2007 and 2018 but the spectacular progress is reflected in the price of what new franchises are paying to join the league.



The 10 original clubs invested $10 million each when the league kicked off in 1996 but Portland and Vancouver paid $35 million in 2011. For Charlotte FC, who arrived in 2022, the bill amounted to $325 million.



Average attendances are around 22,000 spectators, a figure similar to France. The record for a single game is the 82,110 that turned out in July at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena to watch the Los Angeles derby, dubbed ‘El Trafico’.



This year’s expansion side St Louis City are setting new standards with their sell-out stadium, a brand-new venue and a state-of-the-art training facility next door.



They are coached by Johannesburg- born Bradley Carnell, who played for South Africa at the 2002 World Cup and had a successful career in the German Bundesliga after starting out as a 16-year- old professional at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa.



He later earned his coaching stripes as an assistant at Free State Stars and Orlando Pirates.



“They said the expansion job is one of the most difficult in any American sport, so good luck. I was like, ‘Ok’,” Carnell says.



“Then I met the ownership group and spoke to them about vision, passion and what we stand for. There was just too many similarities and synergy there for I think either party. Looking in hindsight, everything just panned out,” he adds.



St Louis are the first new team in MLS history to win their opening five matches and are well-placed for the end of season playoffs.



But Carnell, in a long interview with FORBES AFRICA, insists on patience.



“Short-term, it’s about getting infrastructure, academy, style of play— check those boxes. Mid-term, be competitive — we’re checking that box as well. Now, long-term, can we be really successful? The goal is to be compared, one day, to those great teams in the league already.”



In his playing days, Carnell had a chance to move overseas after being spotted as a teenager when he was competing for South Africa at the under-20 level at a tournament in France.



He thinks MLS offers the same chance to African players, especially those in South Africa’s Premier Soccer League, which MLS clubs are now showing much more interest in. “We just have to lead by example,” he says of the growing South African numbers in the league.



“If we can now, you know, just be key ambassadors for our product back home, and to put other guys on the map because now there is slowly more chatter; there’s a couple of players that are on the radar.”



Last year Minnesota United bought Bongokuhle Hlongwane from Maritzburg United and in recent months the teenager Olwethu Makhanya has moved to Philadelphia Union, while the exciting Mamelodi Sundowns striker Cassius Mailula is now at Toronto FC. 



The attraction of these players is their age. MLS rules allow clubs to take on more foreign players, as long as they are aged under-23, and it is here where Africans are in demand. Other top signings in recent months include Richard Odada (Kenya) and Prince Owusu, a German of



Ghanaian descent, and all can expect to be in contention to move onto a club in Europe in a few years, if they perform.



All can be assured they are on a stage that offers a chance to move on to bigger and better vistas in Europe.



According to the league, in 2022, MLS paid $175 million in transfer/acquisition fees, and for the fourth consecutive year it set a new high for fees paid, double the amount of five years ago. Revenue generated for outgoing players in 2022 was around $100 million. This does not include sell- on fees for the likes of Leeds United’s Brenden Aaronson or Crystal Palace’s Chris Richards.



The figures for 2023 will be higher, especially the sales of players to clubs in Europe.



Blom’s advice to compatriots offered the chance to play in the MLS is: “Come play, because it’s really a great stepping stone to grow. It’s like an introduction to a high level of football.”



Mailula, for one, heeded the advice even though he had become a regular with Mamelodi Sundowns and could have a comfortable time at home, where he had become an almost overnight star after just one season with the Pretoria club. “It was not an easy decision to take, but I feel like I need to get out of my comfort zone, to explore, to get closer to Europe,” he explains. “This is the right decision for my career, for my family also.”



With each excellent performance, of which there have been many this season, the South African players shine a further spotlight on the domestic league and will have more scouts looking at Africa as a fertile ground for young talent.



Hlongwane hit the headlines with his rush of goals in the Leagues Cup for Minnesota, appearing alongside Messi when they were joint top scorers in the competition.



How many South African players in the past have had such a platform? Very few, and certainly none in the last two decades.



The US has a reputation as a land of opportunity, with rags-to-riches tales possible. Football is the new platform for that and with the South African players earning upwards of R500,000 ($26,150) a month at their young age, they are living that dream.

saas

‘Come Play’: Where African Stars Are In Demand

The 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand next year will see Zambia and South Africa participate with big hopes hinged on their performance.



BY NICK SAID



If there is one thing the coaches of South Africa and Zambia are in agreement on, it is that the hard work starts now as they prepare for the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand next year.



The draw for the 32-team finals competition was held a few weeks ago, and has not been particularly kind to the two southern African nations.



Debutants Zambia have been paired with Spain, Japan and Costa Rica in Group C, no easy task, but coach Bruce Mwape knows that however they do, the symbolism of seeing the Copper Queens on the global stage is perhaps the important thing.



“There are no easy teams in women’s football at the moment,” Mwape says. “For us, it’s just important to be there, especially as this is our first time.



“The whole country is behind us, supporting the team, and our achievements recently show that there has been a lot of improvement in Zambian football.”



He is correct. The Zambian national side won their first COSAFA senior title in 2022, while the country’s top club Green Buffaloes won the COSAFA Women’s Champions League as well.



These are all big steps forward for the game in Zambia and a major reason why they find themselves at the World Cup too.



Mwape has certainly improved their performance drastically, as has forward Barbra Banda, who was a star of the Olympic Games in Tokyo last year and could have a huge impact at the World Cup.



For South Africa, this competition will be second time round after they had their maiden World Cup qualification in France in 2019.



The core of that group remains in place and as recently-crowned African champions, there will be much expectation that they get out of their pool.



But the draw has not been kind, they face top sides Sweden, Italy and Argentina, with certainly the first two formidable foes. Coach Des Ellis is putting on a brave face.



“I think it’s a reasonable draw,” she said. “We’ve played Sweden before but we haven’t met Italy and Argentina. My feeling is that it could have been tougher.



“Now the planning and preparation starts, making sure the players have as much information as they can.”



The World Cup will be staged from July 20 to August 20, with South Africa canvassing hard to be the hosts of the 2027 tournament. The women’s competition has never been held on the African continent before.

FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Qualifier: South Africa v Ethiopia

Big Steps Forward For Women’s Football In These Southern African Nations

In South Africa, the ‘Big Three’ – rugby, cricket and soccer – face plummeting revenues in the wake of no live sport, while minor codes are under even greater threat as crucial sponsorship money dries up.



South African sport faces a crisis the likes of which has never been seen before and one that has the potential to change the game forever as the Covid-19 pandemic threatens the brittle fabric that has kept professionalism alive in the country.



Rugby, cricket and soccer all face plummeting revenues in the wake of no live sport, while minor codes are under even greater threat as crucial sponsorship money dries up.



The ‘Big Three’ all rely heavily on broadcast revenue, and for rugby and soccer, the inability to stage live sport in the first few months of the lockdown has put that relationship under threat. As has the worsening economic crisis in the country, which could see millions more people out of jobs and cancelling their subscriptions to pay channel SuperSport in what will be the longer-term effect of the pandemic.



Tough economic times do not bode well for sports, with the corporate paymasters loathe to be seen to be pumping money into sponsorship while at the same time laying off workers.



The immediate threat to all sports is to keep paying the players and staff, and across the board, there have been salary cuts that suggest the days of largesse are over, for now, and possibly, the foreseeable future.



South Africa’s Premier Soccer League (PSL) faces the potential for collapse as we know it, with clubs already cutting player salaries, laying off non-playing staff and facing a burst to the bubble of what is seen by many as the richest and best-equipped league in Africa.



Absa announced a premature end to their lucrative deal as headline sponsors of the league, worth some R140 million ($8.3 million) per season, while stalwart clubs such as Bidvest Wits, with a rich 99-year history, have been sold as owners reconsider their appetitive for the sport.



“Football all over the world is a business like any other,” Cape Town City owner John Comitis tells FORBES AFRICA. “It has to be treated as such and that means in tough economic times, you have to look at ways of cutting costs.



“But as a club, we will do everything possible to limit the damage. A lot of that will be dependent on how quickly we can re-start the season, because we need to fulfil our contractual obligations to our sponsors and the broadcaster.



“That is the major source of income and without that, it is inevitable that the effect will trickle down to staff and the players.



“But even if you cut player salaries, the cost of running a club remains high. It is a very difficult situation and some [clubs] will handle it better than others.”



Fellow top-flight side AmaZulu confirmed they could not pay full salaries as early as the end of April, though they were guarded on the size of the cuts, saying in a letter to players and staff, “even though the club receives the [R2 million] PSL grant and has Spar as a sponsor, it still relies on other income streams and significant contribution from the owners of the club whose businesses have been severely affected by Covid-19”.



In rugby, some of the country’s top players will lose up to 43% of their monthly earnings up to the end of 2020 after South African Rugby announced plans to cut its budget by R1.2 billion ($71.5 million) for the year.



This would be achieved through a mixture of interventions, including cancelling junior competitions, and limiting other operations such as training camps, coaching courses and non-essential work.



But players will also feel the brunt, with a sliding scale used to determine how much they will lose on their monthly wage, which according to reports, is on average around R50,000 ($2,980) per month across the board, though higher earners can collect five times that amount.



The cuts, which amount to 25% of total remuneration across the industry, are not just for players, but coaching staff, administrators and office workers as well. Those earning less than R20,000 ($1,192) per month will not be affected.



“It was a complex process to find alignment with a number of entities representing 1,396 people in the South African rugby industry,” SA Rugby CEO Jurie Roux says.



“The group identified our collective areas of financial risk and what savings had to be made and then identified a plan to mitigate those risks.



“It has meant salary cuts for many, but we have put together a plan that will ensure the industry will be positioned and resourced to get straight back to action just as soon as we are permitted.”



Cricket has largely been shielded from the financial fallout due to the fact that the season was coming to an end just as lockdown was implemented.



It means the industry would have been dormant for a few months in any case, and the national team players mostly idle, though a limited overs tour to Sri Lanka in June was called off.



South Africa’s home summer really kicks into gear in December, by which time authorities are hopeful they will at least be able to stage matches and fulfil their contractual obligations, though a poorly-performing economy may have longer-lasting effects.



“We have budgeted for the amount [of salaries for the season],” Cricket South Africa Acting CEO Jacques Faul says. “It’s a centralized system and both the national team and [domestic] franchise players are budgeted for. At this stage, we will have enough capacity to see us through the [2020/21] season.



“But in the long term, even if we cover this season, we will have to look at what the situation is going to be after that and the financial impact it has. In our situation, I cannot see any player getting less money this season, but going forward, I can see a situation where players might have to receive less.”



The great uncertainty for everyone is the difficulty in predicting how the Covid-19 pandemic will play out in South Africa.



But what is clear is if salaries and jobs are to be saved, the games need to start sooner rather than later, or the money will simply dry up, and in a worst-case scenario, the likes of rugby and cricket could return to the amateur era.&nbsp;



– By Nick Said

Sowet soccer

How Covid-19 Is Playing Out In Sport In South Africa

Add another zero to soccer’s most expensive rivalry.



Cristiano Ronaldo earned $105 million before taxes and fees in the past year, landing him at No. 4 on the 2020&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;Celebrity 100, one spot above his top rival in the sport, Lionel Messi, and making him the first soccer player in history to earn $1 billion.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The 35-year-old striker is only the third athlete to hit mark while still playing following Tiger Woods, who did it in 2009 on the back of his long term endorsement deal with Nike&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/nike" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NKE</a>, and Floyd Mayweather in 2017, who’s made most of his income from a cut of pay-per-view sales for his boxing matches.&nbsp;



Ronaldo, the first to do it in a team sport, has made $650 million during his 17 years on the pitch, and is expected to reach $765 million in career salary after his current contract ends in June 2022. Messi, who began playing at the senior level three years after Ronaldo, has earned a total of $605 million in salary since 2005. The only team athlete to even come within striking distance of those figures was former New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez, who retired in 2016 after 22 years in MLB having earned $450 million in salary. Not even soccer legend David Beckham came close, ending his career with total earnings of $500 million, half of which came from off-pitch endorsements. 



“Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the greatest players of all time, in the world&#8217;s most popular sport, in an era when football has never been so rich,” said Sporting Intelligence’s Nick Harris, whose Global Sports Salaries Survey ranks teams worldwide based on total salary expense. “He&#8217;s box office.&#8221;



Ronaldo and Messi’s head-to-heads heated up in Spain’s La Liga in 2009, where Ronaldo played for Real Madrid and Messi for Barcelona. Their faceoffs on the pitch ignited a nine-year battle for bragging rights as the best — and top-paid — in the sport, a <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/christinasettimi/2019/06/18/the-worlds-highest-paid-soccer-players-2019-messi-ronaldo-and-neymar-dominate-the-sporting-world/#2f9e5b76b55e">highly personal</a> tit-for-tat that had them re-negotiating contracts in lockstep and monopolizing the game’s highlight reel. 



The rivalry was as entertaining as it was profitable, coming just as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2019/05/29/the-worlds-most-valuable-soccer-teams-2019/#1a0fa8ff40d6">clubs around the world</a>&nbsp;were seeing soaring attendance and an influx of television money. The two were perfectly matched for battle, on and off the pitch: Ronaldo perfected a shirtless, stylized showmanship while Messi played the quiet game, always a tad unkempt and as prolific a scorer as he was a wingman. Ronaldo strutted after every goal. Messi was a master at thanking his teammates.&nbsp;



Both backed it up. Barcelona won the La Liga title six times and two Champions Leagues trophies with Messi on the squad. Real Madrid won the Spanish title twice and the Champions League four times with Ronaldo. During their years in the league, each player nabbed four Ballon d’Ors (soccer’s MVP) and their El Classicos, the nickname for their clubs fierce clashes, were record-setting television events worldwide.&nbsp;



But when it came to leveraging celebrity, it has been no contest. Guided by Jorge Mendes of Gestifute, one of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonbelzer/2019/10/21/most-powerful-sports-agents/#1cc52df93b27">world’s most powerful agents</a>, Ronaldo has amassed an ever-growing following of fans and consumers drawn to his poster-boy good looks, trend-setting hair styles, impeccable fashion sense and, lately, his softer side as a family man whose toddlers pop up on his social media posts. In January he became the first person with 200 million followers on Instagram, part of a social media army of 427 million across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter that makes him the most popular athlete on the planet.&nbsp;



Nike pays him upwards of $20 million annually and signed him to a lifetime deal in 2016, making him just the third athlete after Michael Jordan and LeBron James hitched to the Swoosh for eternity. In May, the footwear maker announced the release of a 10-year anniversary edition of his first signature Mercurial Superfly and a child’s version to celebrate his son’s 10th birthday, complete with his famous celebration stance, signature and logo. Pitches for Clear shampoo, Herbalife <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/herbalife" target="_blank">HLF</a>, and pharmaceutical maker Abbott help raise his endorsement tally to $45 million.



Ronaldo, Inc. even has a trademark — CR7, a mix of his initials and jersey number — part of a lifestyle brand that&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;estimates accounts for a quarter of his annual endorsement income, including branded underwear that debuted in 2013 that was followed by a line of shoes, fragrances and denim wear. He partnered with Pestana Hotel Group in 2015 to open his first property a year later in his hometown of Funchal, Madeira, right above Museu CR7, a shrine for his trophies and a retail outlet for his merchandise. He’s since added CR7 clubs with Crunch Fitness, posts workout routines on YouTube and has attached his name to a social media influencing degree offered by Italian online university eCampus.



And the rivalry is far from done.



Ronaldo’s 2020 earnings include a salary of $60 million, slightly less than last year due to a 30% pay cut he agreed to take this April as a result of the pandemic. Messi, who earned $104 million in the past year after taking a 70% pay cut while coronavirus sidelined play, is poised to surpass $1 billion in all-time earnings as soon as next year, before his current Barca contract ends.



&#8211;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/christinasettimi/">Christina Settimi</a>, Forbes Staff, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sportsmoney">SportsMoney</a>

gettyimages-1167251285-594×594

Ronaldo’s $105 Million Year Tops Messi And Crowns Him Soccer’s First Billion-Dollar Man

South Africa’s die-hard football fans bemoan the effect the lockdown is having on the game even as they attempt to keep the conversations going.



With sports events taking a big knock from coronavirus lockdowns globally, the venues and stadiums staging them have closed doors, and no one knows when the stars will come out to play again.



It is heartening though that in some places, local sporting groups, especially die-hard football fans, are keeping the spirit alive in their own way.



Take Football Conversations, a company founded by football fanatic Bandile Roro in 2017 and that is also airing as an eponymous show on Soweto TV.



Along with Tiisetso Mofokeng, the company’s CEO, Roro says the entire football community is in shock as they face an uncertain future.



“Football is about the moments, the comebacks and settling scores and when teams don’t have the opportunity to right yesterday’s wrongs today, then it becomes a problem not only for the football teams, but for the fans as well,” adds Mofokeng.



He says this particular anecdote does not only apply to the 90 minutes on the pitch but also to the information and content Football Conversations beams to the public on television.



“An episode that we air the week before, builds up a hunger and desire for a little bit more the following week and when we don’t get that opportunity to air, that’s how one sees how the pandemic poses a problem,” he says.



The lockdown has affected filming as their shows are usually shot in multiple locations to give every episode a different feel.



But the countrywide infections and deaths have stalled all such ambitions.



“This throws the question of morality; how is content creation important when people’s lives are at stake and that is something we had to understand, but also, on the other side of the coin, Football Conversations creates content as escapism at this time of uncertainty,” says Mofokeng.



“Football Conversations endorses the directive from the president,” adds Roro. “We do believe that this particular period will flatten the curve with fewer new infections and the sooner we adhere to it, the sooner we can return to our normal lives.”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



The company had signed a procurement contract with a private entity prior to the lockdown, but things are on standstill for now.



Hopeful that the Covid-19 infection rate will slow and the lockdown will be lifted, the duo are now planning their next road trips and a new show, Off Pitch Goals, on players and their businesses.



“We also produce podcasts on Spotify and YouTube to engage with our fans just to keep soccer discussions afloat,” says Roro.



The game may have been affected, but the goals stay the same.

Bandile Roro and Tiisetso Mofokeng at Orlando Stadium, Johannesburg

Alive And Not Kicking: ‘Missing The Great Moments In Football’

Women’s football in the southern African region has picked up pace in recent years, benefiting from some ground-breaking work across all spheres of the sport. Sue Destombes is a key figure driving it. 



The Council of Southern African Football Associations (COSAFA) is leading the charge in women’s football, and particularly so, its Secretary General Sue Destombes, who has overseen the introduction of women’s competitions at Under-17 and Under-20 level, to go with a senior championship, in the last year.



COSAFA has 14 member nations across the region, and industry
veteran Destombes is a key figure in driving an ambitious expansion of its
operations that last year saw them host six international tournaments in four
different countries – South Africa, Mauritius, Malawi and Zambia.



Destombes was recently recognized for her contribution to
football with a Lifetime Achievement honor at the 2019 Hollard Sport Industry
Awards.



She has been involved with the organization since the first men’s senior COSAFA Cup was played in 1997, and leads a team that has a heavy female influence, along with the head of the COSAFA media office, Lynda Greeff, and long-serving office manager, Nobuhle Masuku, among others.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="684" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/B19GCSM0096-1024x684.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-42741" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/B19GCSM0096-1024x684.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/B19GCSM0096-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/B19GCSM0096-600x401.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/B19GCSM0096-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/B19GCSM0096-1536x1026.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/B19GCSM0096.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>Sue Destombes COSAFA General Secretary with Janine Van Wyk South Africa Team Captain and Amanda Dlamini Former South Africa Captain help conduct the Draw during the 2019 COSAFA Women Championship Draw on the 03 July 2019 COSAFA House Pic Sydney Mahlangu/ BackpagePix</figcaption></figure>



In what has been typically a male-dominated industry,
Destombes has managed to leave her mark not only on COSAFA, but also the
Confederation of African Football (CAF) and global governing body FIFA.



“I have never found being a women a barrier to entry in
football, and cannot remember any situation where I felt excluded because I am
a woman, but that does not mean there is not a ‘boys’ club’ environment,”
Destombes tells FORBES AFRICA.



“It is not a problem in the business of football, but maybe on a social level, yes, there can be some exclusion. But I don’t work in football for the social gatherings, so it does not bother me.”



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="738" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/B19H2SS0128-1024x738.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-42742" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/B19H2SS0128-1024x738.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/B19H2SS0128-300x216.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/B19H2SS0128-600x432.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/B19H2SS0128-768x553.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/B19H2SS0128-1536x1106.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/B19H2SS0128.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>Sue Destombes, Cosafa General Secretary during the 2019 COSAFA U17 Boys draw at COSAFA House, Johannesburg, on 28 August 2019 ©Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix</figcaption></figure>



Destombes says she is pleased that women are starting to
play a greater role in football administration, but says there is a long way to
go.



“In the 54 African member associations of FIFA, we only have
one female president in Isha Johansen from Sierra Leone. But we are slowly
starting to see a change in terms of female representation on executive
committees and even within the CAF secretariat.



“FIFA, for the first time in their 116-year history, have a
female Secretary General in Fatma Samoura (from Senegal), so maybe the boys’
club is being infiltrated slowly.”



Destombes has been determined to help grow the women’s game
in the COSAFA region – but not just for players. 



COSAFA’s mandate includes upskilling coaches, match
officials and even administrators, who all gain valuable experience, not only
from the tournaments that are played, but also from targeted workshops that
leave behind a lasting imprint in host cities across the region.



“We don’t just pitch up, play games and say goodbye,”
Destombes says. “We always leave a legacy in whichever country we are in. 



“We have done incredible work to develop male and female
referees across the region, many of who have gone on to make the FIFA panel. We
have put aspiring male and female coaches through courses to get their
D-License, which is really the first step in a coaching career.” 



Women’s football has been increasing in focus, with South Africa making the FIFA Women’s World Cup in France in 2019. Their coach, Desiree Ellis, has spoken multiple times of how COSAFA helped her mould her squad, and her own skills, by providing quality competition at tournaments. 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="663" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/B18IIRW0070-1024x663.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-42743" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/B18IIRW0070-1024x663.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/B18IIRW0070-300x194.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/B18IIRW0070-600x389.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/B18IIRW0070-768x498.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/B18IIRW0070-1536x995.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/B18IIRW0070.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>Nelson Mandela Bay Mayor Mongameli Bobani, Sue Destombes (Cosafa General Secretary) and Nelson Mandela Bay Mayor Deputy Mayor Thsonono Buyeye during the 2018 Cosafa Women&#8217;s Championship Zambia team arrival at Port Elizabeth International Airport on 9 September 2018 © Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix</figcaption></figure>



“It has long been COSAFA’s wish to grow women’s football and
we have made great strides in recent times. Last year was the first in which we
held three women’s competitions in the various age-groups, and we will do that
again in 2020,” Destombes confirms.



“It is about providing opportunity to girls to both play the
game, or be involved in another capacity such as coaching and administration.”



The senior COSAFA Women’s Championship that was held in
South Africa’s Port Elizabeth last year drew bumper crowds, suggesting there is
plenty of interest in the female game from fans.



But finding commercial partners is more challenging, admits
Destombes.



“One of the new tournaments we want to implement is a
women’s club Champions League, for teams across the region. That would truly
catapult the development of the game. But it is dependent on finding commercial
partners.”



That is true for much of the work done by COSAFA. While they
do get funding from FIFA for tournaments, it is a finite amount and does not
come close to covering the expense.



“Our number one challenge is the financial aspect,”
Destombes says. “We are the biggest of the six CAF zones that make up the
continent, with the most members, and we would like to include everybody.



“For example, our women’s Under-17 and Under-20 competitions
had eight teams competing last year, and we would love to expand that to at
least 12 to provide greater opportunity. 



“But that is a huge leap in the budget, so we need commercial partners and bullish broadcasters who want this type of content.



&#8211; Nick Said

Football – 2017 39th CAF General Assembly – Nelson Mandela Plenary Hall – Addis Ababa

‘The Boys Club Is Being Infiltrated Slowly’

By the time the mid-season transfer window closed at the end
of January, an estimated 2,000 footballers used the month-long opportunity to
transfer from one club to another.



It is one of the two periods in the year when clubs are
allowed to buy and sell players and although not as busy as the June-August
window, it is a frenetic time as clubs in the major football-playing nations
look to strengthen their teams for the second half of the season.



Among the list of movements this January were a bevy of common African names: Bangoura, Boateng, Diaw, Kamara, Mendy, Owusu, Sissoko and Touré. 



But while this might suggest there is a healthy exodus of
Africa’s top talent to the bigger, and more lucrative leagues of Europe, it is
but an illusion.



READ MORE | <a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/sport/2019/03/20/the-million-dollar-game/">The Million Dollar Game</a>



African footballers are still a wanted commodity, but not
necessarily those from the continent.



Instead, it is the ever-increasing numbers from the diaspora
– second- and even third-generation kids born in Europe to African parents who
are prized for the physical prowess and creativity that their African genes
provide, but also having had the benefit of a more formal footballing education
in Europe.



France has always been the primary destination for African
footballers with the top clubs long casting an eye over the best that the
continent has to offer.



But while there were many African footballers moving to and
from French clubs this January, not one arrived directly from an African team.



In England, Germany and Spain, none from them either. Two
Belgian clubs took players from academies in Mali and Senegal but not from
clubs.



Only Italy’s Atalanta spent €200,000 ($225,533) on William Tabi  from ASEC Abidjan in the Ivory Coast. His teammate in the Ivorian under-20 side, Wilfried Singo, also went from Denguélé  to Torino.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">It is as if the market has dried up and a lot of it has to do with the age restrictions on player movements,” London-based agent Rob Moore tells FORBES AFRICA.</blockquote>



South African Moore was at the heart of the biggest move of
the January transfer window as American Christian Pulisic went for some €60
million ($67.6 million) from Borussia Dortmund to Chelsea.



“There is little doubt that when FIFA brought in the rule
that restricted the movement of players aged 18 it put African players at a
severe disadvantage,” adds Mike Makaab, whose agency has moved players to
Belgium, Germany, Greece and Italy in the past.



“Clubs want younger players because they believe they can
still mould them. It has been a major blow to the market although I wouldn’t be
surprised if that rule is changed.



“Obviously, it would have to come with strict rules and
restrictions on potential exploitation.”



But African football is about much more than only an
incubator of talent. It has established competitions like the Nations Cup,
Champions League and Confederation Cup, which now all enjoy fulsome coverage
with matches broadcast live around the world.



“Football clubs in Europe are spoiled for choice,” Makaab
adds.



“The market in Africa is competing with players from Eastern
Europe, from the Americas and now increasingly Asia. There is a lot of choice.



“I find that sometimes the clubs in Africa are not realistic in their pricing of players. They want too much for players who have already established themselves, not cognisant of the fact that clubs can find similar quality elsewhere in the world.”



READ MORE | <a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/sport/2018/10/04/unequal-pay-for-equal-play/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Unequal Pay for Equal Play (opens in a new tab)">Unequal Pay for Equal Play</a>



Moore says clubs in Africa must also realize that the
increasing sophistication of football and its growing technicality demands
better developed players, with physical prowess and skills now needing to be
matched by decision-making and sporting intelligence.



“This is probably why now there are so many young players
from the USA that are making a breakthrough in Europe. American youngsters grow
up with a lot more of theory of the game than those from Africa. It’s the way
they are coached at an early age.”



Historically, most transfers from Africa are from the west.
Players from north and southern Africa are paid better in their domestic
leagues and, therefore, tend to stay home.



“You find that South African footballers don’t really have
that ambition to go overseas anymore as the money in the Premier Soccer League
has improved. Once they get to the PSL, many of them tend to sit on their
laurels,” laments Bafana Bafana coach Stuart Baxter, who feels it is imperative
that players move to Europe for the experience and increased competition.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">Our national team is stronger if there are more players based at European clubs. I try to encourage players to get out there but not many make the move.</blockquote>



“The best African national sides are those with the most
players at the biggest clubs. That’s the reality,”&nbsp; Baxter adds.



When South Africa won the African Nations Cup title in 1996,
the majority of their players were either already at European clubs, or on the
brink of making the move.



Fast forward to this season and the country does not have a
single player in the top leagues in England, Spain, Germany and Italy, and just
a handful plying their trade in France.



It’s a fact that correlates with the downward turn in fortunes for the national team.



-Mark Gleeson

football

African footballers are a wanted commodity but are not  necessarily from the continent

Some African football teams view the exorbitant cost of CAF
competitions a penalty.&nbsp; 



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



In the days before commercialization, when nationalism was
growing and newly, or recently, independent countries looked to make a mark, winning
an African football competition carried great currency.



It also carried the financial backing of the state,
oftentimes, with limitless expense as national prestige and pride were on the
line.



Effectively, national teams and top clubs were able to enter
and compete in continental competitions with little concern for costs.



The downside was that it also meant that football
associations had no independence. Their reliance on the state coffers – meaning
their business – was dictated to them by the government of the day.



That is still a factor in some African countries but these
days, football seeks to stand on its own feet, assert itself and get by on its
own resources – earning revenue from television rights deals, sponsorship
agreements and gate takings, which are all important to fund the expense of
participation.



But the reality of travel on the African continent is one of
enormous expense and football clubs are increasingly wondering whether prestige
and national pride is worth the end result, as they expend great fortunes on
playing against the other top teams from the continent. 



Some nations place more value on it than others. In the
Arabic-speaking north of the continent, the long-time dominance of clubs from
Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia is a source of regional pride and a massive spur to
remain as competitive as possible.



West African clubs still also attach a high value, but it
has been years, decades even, since they were regularly among the winners. The
independence of their football structures nowadays means resources are limited.



Clubs from West Africa&nbsp;
do well with the patronage of&nbsp;
benefactors as was the case with Accra’s Hearts of Oak, who were
assisted by businessman Harry Zakour, in the early 2000s when they were African
champions. More recently, Guinea’s Horoya, enjoys the backing of entrepreneur
Antonio Souaré.



The deep pockets of mining magnate Patrice Motsepe allow
Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa to consistently win domestic success and
qualify for the African Champions League as a result… and be competitive. He
has pumped an estimated R200-million ($14.4-million) into the club over the
last decade and encouraged his coachers to chase African success.



But this is not the attitude of most South African clubs,
who largely see competition north of their border, such as the Champions League
and the Confederation Cup, as a bothersome exercise. They participate with
clenched teeth as if carrying out a chore they have to complete but want to
dispense with as quickly as possible. 



There is a two-fold reason for this. The distraction from
domestic competition that remains a priority for insular-thinking South African
clubs and the exorbitant cost of participation in the Confederation of African
Football (CAF) competitions. “It is money that, quite frankly, would be better
spent strengthening our squad with more players,” says a candid Ari Efstathiou,
the Ajax Cape Town owner who says it costs anything between R250,000 to
R750,000 ($18,000 to $54,000) per game in African competition.



His side are now relegated but just two seasons ago were
competing in the African Confederation Cup.



“Of course, it is an honor to be able to represent the
country but in the long run, unless you actually win the trophy, it is a big
financial burden and there is not much to show for it at the end.”



Travel in Africa is exorbitantly expensive and when you are
forced to move a squad of some 30 players, coaches and support staff around the
continent, it quickly adds up into a massive bill.



Rarely are flights direct, with many clubs using hubs like
Addis Ababa, Nairobi, Dubai and Doha to move from one side of the continent to
the next.



The game costs are made up of travel, match-day security,
hotels, ground transport and paying for the referees. In a bizarre system, open
to much abuse, CAF forced the home club to pay for the flights and the daily
allowances of the referees but have since taken up much of their bill
themselves.



There is still a fulsome entry list each year for the two
annual CAF club competitions and the controlling body will point to an almost
100%&nbsp; success rate in the fulfilment of
fixtures.



But there is a growing sense that changes are needed to make the competition more viable, otherwise they face a slow demise. -Mark Gleeson

gettyimages-106809174-594×594

Can Football Stand On Its Own?

A recent soccer clinic in Soweto had former Liverpool F.C. player John Barnes coaching young girls to become the future stars of Africa.

It’s high noon but the skies are overcast in Soweto on this Wednesday afternoon in October. It is business as usual in this urban Johannesburg township but as we approach Meadowlands, it starts to drizzle.
But rain or shine, at the Fiat Sports Centre here, a group of over 40 girls aged between 12 and 14 are oblivious to everything around them. Their eyes are trained on the ball as they make the most of the day out on the field with visiting retired Jamaican-born professional footballer John Barnes.
It’s a soccer coaching clinic with the star and the girls are wearing big smiles and bright red outfits.
The well-maintained field is separated into rectangles so the groups are smaller and easier to manage. Each section has a coach, balls and marking cones for the different skill-building tasks planned for the day.
Barnes pays close attention to the teams, occasionally offering advice to both the coaches and players.
<blockquote>“It is about empowering young girls and making them feel confident about expressing themselves. It is about making them feel confident that there are no barriers that stop them from achieving their goals,” he says.</blockquote>
The former Liverpool Football Club player and English Football Hall of Fame inductee has been playing football for as long as he can remember., so he only knows too well the preoccupations of these young minds.
He moved to England at the age of 12, and joined the professional ranks at 17 when he signed for Watford in 1981. Barnes later moved to Liverpool F.C. in his early 20s where he played for a decade.
Today, in Soweto, he motivates the girls on the field, goading them on to perform better than boys.
“You have to separate football when you talk about it in South Africa, into men’s football and women’s football. Men’s football is really well-advanced, they have huge support, lots of money, great players, but women’s football is just starting out. It is pleasing to see that young girls are now given an opportunity because young girls in Africa are told that they do not play football but they actually do,” says Barnes.
<div id="attachment_37650" style="width: 750px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-37650" class="wp-image-37650 size-large" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/JohnBarnes_GL-1024x683.jpg" alt="" width="740" height="494" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/JohnBarnes_GL-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/JohnBarnes_GL-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/JohnBarnes_GL-600x400.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/JohnBarnes_GL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/JohnBarnes_GL.jpg 1654w" sizes="(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" />John Barnes. Photo By Gypseenia Lion</div>
The girls receive coaching as part of the Goal global community initiative by Standard Chartered Bank. In South Africa, the program was launched in Tshwane in April 2015 and has since reached over 6,000 girls. The target for 2018 is just over 3,000 girls between Tshwane and Soweto.
In partnership with Altus Sport, an NGO developing youth and sport, the 2018 Soweto program includes this special interaction with Barnes.
Former Banyana Banyana player, Thando Dlamini, started coaching at the clinic this year. She says some of the girls lack discipline, and stresses how support from family members and the community can go a long way to help.
“You hardly see any of the parents coming to support the girls. I think if they came to the games and watch the girls, they will realize it is not about the misconceptions. The behavior has changed in some of the girls I worked with. Soccer teaches you discipline,” says Dlamini.
The star of the day at the soccer clinic, Mosima Magome, a Grade 8 student, agrees. She says she has been feeling more confident since starting soccer.
“People would always tease me because I am the shortest in class,” she says. The teenager looks up to global icon, Lionel Messi, because “he never quits, even when he misses a goal”.
Commenting on the general lack of interest in skills-building programs, Altus Sport’s Operations Manager Samantha Pennells says local professional sportsmen should give back to the community as well.
“You got a guy from Liverpool, like John Barnes. He is here in the community; it is not his community but he is here giving advice, giving tips. It was not just about sport, it was about life,” she says.
South African football veteran Steve Sekano, a guest at the soccer clinic, and Barnes share jokes on the sidelines.
The former Moroka Swallows Football Club midfielder runs a foundation within the community that aims to get the youth involved in sport. With hopes that sport will keep them out of trouble, Sekano advocates the need for more facilities in the area. He says that as a former professional, it is his duty to give back.
“People ask me why soccer is not the same as when you guys played. I say it is the same. But when you talk about soccer today, you talk about money. Because our players are earning a lot of money today. Those days, we were not earning a lot of money, we were committed. But our players need to up their game; our game must grow,” says Sekano.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-37649 size-large" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/JBGirls_GL-1024x683.jpg" alt="" width="740" height="494" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/JBGirls_GL-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/JBGirls_GL-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/JBGirls_GL-600x400.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/JBGirls_GL-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/JBGirls_GL.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" />
For Geraldine Matchaba, Head of Corporate Affairs, Brand &amp; Marketing, South Africa and Southern Africa, at Standard Chartered Bank, the corporate world too has a responsibility to prioritize community-based issues. “Those are people who are your future employees, they are your clients and they are future leaders. You have to play a role. It is what we are doing with the Goal program,” she says.
Thoko Phakati, Sports Field Manager, is in charge of operations at the Fiat Sports Centre. The space that used to be a dumping site is now accessible to the community free of charge.
“We believe they also deserve a chance, why is it that only places like the Wanderers Stadium are supposed to look beautiful? So we are doing as much as we can here to give kids a chance. We have people like Steve Sekano who grew up here and became successful but if he were to tell you his story, you will find that he also had challenges growing up,” she says.
Soweto truly is the home of South African football, and the young girls here prove they too can chase a ball for 90 minutes. There is a long conversation to be had about policies that prioritize men over women in sport, but in the meantime, programs such as Goal and footballers like Barnes continue to make sure that new stars are born on the muddy fields of Soweto.
&nbsp;

SoccerClinicGirls_GL

Giving Girls Goals; Soweto’s Soccer Coaching Clinic

Lebo Mothiba, only 22, is viewed as a potential rising star who could rival the likes of Benni McCarthy and Steven Pienaar as one of South Africa’s greatest sport exports.

It has been rare for South Africa to have a player in Europe’s heralded top five leagues in recent times, much less one that is viewed as a potential rising star who could rival the likes of Benni McCarthy and Steven Pienaar as one of the country’s greatest sport exports.
But Lebo Mothiba has been making waves in France’s Ligue 1, which sits only behind Spain, Italy, England and Germany among the world’s elite leagues, and for the 22-year-old, this is just the beginning.
Mothiba recently joined Racing Strasbourg from Lille, the club who had scouted him from the Diambars Football Academy in Johannesburg in 2014.
His four years in France have seen a remarkable rise for a player who left South Africa as a wide-eyed teenager, fearful of how he would be received in Europe, but determined to grab his opportunity for fame and fortune.
Now fluent in French and banging in the goals for club and country, he is settled in his new home and more eager than ever to progress to an even higher level in the coming years.
For a young man from Tembisa, a township in Gauteng, South Africa, he is living a life he barely dared dream of when growing up and turning out for his father’s side.
“I played for my dad’s team, it was called Mighty Bucks. I was there for years,” Mothiba tells FORBES AFRICA in Strasbourg.
“When I turned nine, I went for trials at Mamelodi Sundowns and I ended up playing for the Under-11 side.
“I am from a footballing family, everybody plays football except my Mum. My sister played for Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies, my brother played locally in Tembisa and my dad, who has since passed on, also used to play. Football is in my blood.”
Now a hulking forward with a deft touch in front of the goal, Mothiba actually started as a center-back and his early role-models were defenders.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/sport/2018/10/27/how-one-female-south-african-footballer-is-forging-ahead/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: How One Female South African Footballer Is Forging Ahead</a>
“I was a center-back at Sundowns, I played there for two years up to Under-13. But that’s when Sundowns stopped their academy. I moved on to Kempton Park and that’s when the coach changed me to a striker.
“Because I was a center-back, I used to look up to defenders, especially this one guy from Nigeria, Taribo West. In Tembisa, some of my friends even started calling me ‘West’ or ‘Taribo West’, he was my role-model.”
His fortunes changed when he was scouted for the now-defunct Diambars Academy that had started in Johannesburg, set up by former France internationals Bernard Lama and Patrick Vieira.
<div id="attachment_37627" style="width: 750px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-37627" class="wp-image-37627 size-large" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/GettyImages-1043052904-1024x1024.jpg" alt="" width="740" height="740" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/GettyImages-1043052904-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/GettyImages-1043052904-300x300.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/GettyImages-1043052904-100x100.jpg 100w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/GettyImages-1043052904-600x600.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/GettyImages-1043052904-150x150.jpg 150w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/GettyImages-1043052904-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/GettyImages-1043052904-80x80.jpg 80w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/GettyImages-1043052904.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" />Strasbourg&#8217;s South African forward Lebo Mothiba celebrates after scoring a goal during the French L1 football match between Strasbourg (RCSA) and Dijon FCO on September 29, 2018. Photo by Frederick Florin &#8211; Getty Images.</div>
“I was at Kempton Park and in 2010, the academy came to South Africa from Senegal. The guys from Diambars Senegal came to scout me playing at Modderfontein. We won 16-1 and I was playing striker. The owners of Diambars obviously enjoyed the game because I was one of the players they took.”
That led to a move to Lille at the age of 18, a top side in France who had hit hard times, both financially and on the pitch.
He was sent on loan to Valenciennes in the division below, and it was there that people started to take notice of this powerful South African.
“It was good for me to go on loan and showcase my talent, because at Lille it was very, very difficult to take that step up to the first team,” Mothiba says. “For me to get more experience, and for my confidence, I think it was time for me to go.
“It was in Ligue 2, but it was very tough. It is not easy at all. It is a tough league and I went there to get game-time, to do my best and I scored goals.”
Such was his form that Lille recalled him early from the loan spell in January 2018 to try and help them avoid relegation. In the end, it was Mothiba’s goals that kept the side in the top division.
“It was a very tough six months for me, because I went back to a club where everybody was stressing and everyone was under pressure because of the potential of relegation.
<blockquote>“But I went there to help them because it is my home. It is a team that took me when I was young and it was hurting me seeing the team at the bottom of the league.”</blockquote>
His eye-catching performances caught the attention of Strasbourg, who paid a reported €4 million (approximately $4.6 million) for his services in August, with cash-strapped Lille reluctant sellers, but needing to bring money into the club.
He started with a bang, netting four goals in his first three starts for Strasbourg up until the international break in October, making him an instant hit with his new club’s fans.
Mothiba is the stand-out performer among compatriots in Ligue 1, Bongani Zungi (Amiens), Lebogang Phiri (Guingamp) and Keagan Dolly (Montpellier), and says the competition is a good fit for the skillset of most players from South Africa.
“If you are a South African player and you know what your goal is, it is a good league. You can learn a lot, a totally different type of play. South African players are technically very good, but here it is more aggressive and faster going forward,” Mothiba says.
&#8211; By Nick Said

Pic-supplied2

The South African Making Waves In France’s Ligue 1

South African women’s footballer Refiloe Jane, turning out for Canberra next season, has had a meteoric rise in the sport.

South African women’s footballer Refiloe Jane has had a remarkable rise in her career that will enter a new phase in the coming months when she turns out for Australian side Canberra United.
Jane was in Grade 11 when she was spotted in a player talent search, plucked from obscurity and put onto the path to a highly successful career with her technical ability already standing out from her peers.
The diminutive midfielder has since appeared at the Olympic Games in 2012 and 2016, captained the South African national side that is nicknamed Banyana Banyana, and is now set to become the latest player in the country to ply their trade abroad.
She is part of a growing contingent of exports, as just two years ago there were no players at clubs outside of colleges in the United States.
But since then her compatriots Janine van Wyk, Thembi Kgatlana and Linda Motlhalo have turned out for Houston Dash in the prestigious National Women’s Soccer League, Leandra Smeda now plays for top Lithuanian side Gintra Universitetas and Ode Fulutudilu plays at Finland side ONS.
Jane and fellow Banyana star Rhoda Mulaudzi will carry the mantle further when they turn out for Canberra next season.
For Soweto-born Jane it is an almost unbelievable level of success that started with winning a talent search at the age of 16, which came with a prize of a trip to England to train with professional clubs that opened her eyes to the level required to be a success.
“Winning the Gauteng Future Champions Talent Identification Programme really kick-started my career and gave me so much confidence to believe that I can play for a top local side and even internationally,” Jane tells FORBES AFRICA.
“The time I spent with Arsenal and Everton also opened my eyes up to what is required to be a professional player and I made sure that I put into practice what I learned there.
“Although I had not gone there for trials, both coaches of the teams wanted me to stay, but I was still at school. That is when I realized that I might actually have some special talent to offer the beautiful game.
<blockquote>“And that is when I started pursuing this dream of mine of wanting to go and play abroad. I am glad it’s finally happening.”</blockquote>
Jane is a key figure for the national side that will hope to win the African Women’s Championship in Ghana in November, though just finishing in the top three will get them a place at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France and a first-ever place at the global finals.
It has also been a meteoric rise for her in a national team jersey, including wearing the captain’s armband.
“After joining Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies in late 2010, I put my head down and said to myself that I am going to give everything I have to try and make it into the Banyana Banyana squad. 
“I feel very happy and honoured and appreciate the platform I have been given to showcase my talent and represent my country. It hasn’t been easy but with the determination and hard work, it was enough to get me here.
“I earned my first cap in Cyprus in 2012. I remember when I came on [as a substitute], we were leading against Northern Ireland and our coach then, Joseph Mkhonza, said to me, ‘this is your chance to start your national team career, run with it and see how far it takes you’. I cannot believe how far I have come.”
&#8211; Nick Said

South Africa v Brazil: Women’s Football – Olympics: Day 4

How One Female South African Footballer Is Forging Ahead

The South African women’s football coach, Desiree Ellis, on the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA) Cup, and why it is important to plan for a future after football. 

<ol>
<li>What are your biggest challenges coaching a national women’s soccer team? </li>
</ol>
I think it’s the same everywhere when you have to prepare for a match a week before the game.
<ol start="2">
<li>Would you say being a coach in South Africa is a lucrative career?</li>
</ol>
We have a semi-professional league, the Sasol League, many of the coaches have their own jobs so it is all about the passion and trying to make a difference.
<ol start="3">
<li>The biggest lesson you learned in your career? </li>
</ol>
Together, we can do anything. Football is a team sport but it is not just about the players, but the staff as well, each and every one has to play its part for it to be a success.
<ol start="4">
<li>As a woman, have you experienced discrimination on the field and how did you deal with it? </li>
</ol>
[There is a] lot of stereotyping that girls should not play football, but I had the support of both my parents and that’s all that mattered. I remember going to a match and guys walking by saying ‘let’s go watch these girls play and have a laugh’. After the game, they were our biggest supporters. We just tried to play the best we could and showed that we love the game and have the skills to play.
<ol start="5">
<li>What qualities do you believe make a good team? </li>
</ol>
There will always be special players in any team but teamwork is the most important for me, as the individualism of the special players will shine brighter through teamwork. The 2018 FIFA World Cup is a perfect example. The teams with a special player left the competition early…the likes of Belgium, England, Croatia and France who had special players but were more reliant on teamwork stood the test of time with France beating Croatia in the final.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/sometime-in-africa/2012/10/01/football-money-africa/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: Football is Money in Africa</a>
<ol start="6">
<li>What is the one thing soccer players take for granted? </li>
</ol>
Not taking care of tomorrow as there has to be a future after football because not everyone is going to play professional football. When I was playing, especially in the national team, 90% of the players were unemployed but now 90%, if not more, have degrees or are currently studying.
<ol start="7">
<li>What is more important to you, time or money? </li>
</ol>
Definitely time. It might take a lot of time and effort to get where you want to be, but it will be time spent wisely.
<ol start="8">
<li>How do you stay financially prudent? </li>
</ol>
I try to stay within my budget but sometimes it’s very difficult as I like to spoil my nieces and nephews but I also try to save money monthly.
<ol start="9">
<li>The moment you step on the field, you….?</li>
</ol>
Immediately focus on the task at hand, getting the most of our training session; reaching our objective for the session.

Football – 2018 COSAFA Womens Cup – South Africa – Team Announcement – SAFA House

A Future After Football

The gender pay gap remains enormous in sport. Despite women’s achievements in rugby, football and cricket, resources continue to be channeled to men’s sport in South Africa.

In May this year, Cricket South Africa (CSA) CEO Thabang Moroe made a bold pronouncement – he wanted to see men and women paid equally in the sport.
Bold because contentious contractual agreements for national contracts – for men – had not been signed yet, following a lengthy standoff between the South African Cricketers’ Association and the suits at CSA.
Bold because cricket – and sport in general – was a long, long way away from gender parity.
The silence from the other sports federations was audible. You would think such a statement would spark the ‘Four-Minute Mile’ effect and cause the other sports administrators to take up the fight for equal gender pay. Not a word.
The last known figures (2015) showed Proteas women earned about eight times less than the men. If the men win a Test, it’s R10,000 ($690) to R80,000 ($5,520).
Those figures might have improved for the women following financial wellness company Momentum’s injection into the sport, especially after their stellar showing at the Women’s World Cup in England last year, where they made the semifinals. However, the gap remains enormous.
The general consensus is that the AB de Villiers big hits and Kagiso Rabada’s bombardier bowling bring in the audience and therefore they deserve a bigger slice of the pie.
But how can they not be viewed in higher marketing esteem when all the resources are channeled to boys’ sports from inception? When there are school rugby derbies, the sister schools are in the stands watching the boys play but where are the boys when the girls play?
The game is rigged from the start. Women are playing a board game of snakes with no ladders, whereas the men are in a game of ladders with no snakes.
At the last women’s World Cup in 2014, the Springboks women’s squad members were paid somewhere between R5,000 ($345) and R7,000 ($483) per match, according to a source within SA Rugby.
Pitiful as those wages were, they were the last seen by the XV-player version of the women’s game. For four years, the rugby mother body scheduled no Tests for the women’s national team, choosing instead to focus on the Sevens derivative, whose players received R12,000 ($828) to R20,000 ($1,380) in match fees.
This year, the women’s national XV-a-side team returns to the field, most likely to cobwebs where a fair wage should be.
Au contraire, the men are laughing all the way to the bank. The current HSBC Sevens World Series champions, the Blitzboks, can each expect nothing less than R800,000 ($55,288) per year for contracted players, while Springbok match fees range from R90,000 ($6,220) to R120,000 ($8,230) per game and double that for a victorious match.
Consider the dual contracts rugby players can sign with South African as well as Japanese franchises – which can climb to about R13 million ($900,000) in East Asia alone. Such figures would make any of the female players’ eyes water.
An SA Rugby spokesperson says: “South African rugby is excited and committed to the challenge of growing women’s rugby in this country.
Our major challenge is the relatively small number of female players from which we can choose but we have addressed that by creating under-16 and under-18 competitions as well as establishing youth training centers around the country where female players can train and be upskilled.
<blockquote>“Only once we have reached a critical mass of female players will be able to think of professionalizing the women’s provincial game.”</blockquote>
What South African female footballers receive is a borderline insult.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/woman/2015/04/01/women-should-not-be-boxing/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: Women Should Not Be Boxing?</a>
A Banyana Banyana player, who has also played for the national team at Under-17 and Under-20 level, says, on condition of anonymity: “I didn’t receive any allowance for playing Under-17 and Under-20.
“With Banyana, I think it’s roughly R4,000 ($276) for being in camp for a week and if you win, you get a bonus of about R2,000 ($138).”
The women’s football team has qualified for the last two Olympic Games, in Britain and Brazil, while the men’s team has all but underperformed on the international stage. This has not prevented brand and sponsorship managers to jump towards the Premier Soccer League, making it the richest league on the African continent.
Women’s football in South Africa survives on the lone sponsorship from Sasol, who provide for an amateur league and the women’s national team needs. The paucity of resources also means that the sport fails to attract talented women, who would much rather earn a living in an office job.
A recent news report showed that Bafana Bafana players could get R40,000 ($2,767) to R60,000 ($4,150) per match, despite a chronic inability to qualify for major tournaments consistently. Banyana Banyana, by virtue of a 6-0 victory over Lesotho in June, qualified for the CAF Women Nations Cup to be held in Ghana later this year.
Recently appointed South African Football Association (SAFA) Vice-President, Ria Ledwaba, the first woman to hold the post, says a fresh approach to luring sponsors into the women’s game is needed. As it stands, Sasol is the biggest sponsor of women’s football, and they keep the lights on not just for the national team but the domestic Sasol League as well.
“We need other Sasols to come on board,” says Ledwaba.
<div id="attachment_37330" style="width: 210px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-37330" class="size-medium wp-image-37330" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Gree_Midrand_027-copy-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Gree_Midrand_027-copy-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Gree_Midrand_027-copy-300x450.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Gree_Midrand_027-copy.jpg 461w" sizes="(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" />SAFA Vice-President, Ria Ledwaba.</div>
“We want our girls to be encouraged to play soccer. They [probably] look at what Banyana are earning now and say, ‘What’s the point? It’s not going to take me another level’. But when you look at Bafana, you know what you get when you get called up and that’s because of a sponsor.
“Sometimes you must go to the market and get competent companies that are able to package sponsors in, and sell what Banyana have achieved. We need to draw in companies that sell products that are used by women and such. And if you don’t approach them, they won’t come to you.”
Former Banyana captain Amanda Dlamini, tweeted in May: “I’m still mad at myself for this, for allowing people to emotionally manipulate us of what we deserve [sic]. People make serious money with just under 50 caps of national duty. We still struggle to make ends meet during our prime &amp; even after retirement.”
In that lone statement, the pitiful situation can be summed up.
&#8211; By Sibusiso Mjikeliso

Stacks of Coins

Unequal Pay for Equal Play

Affable South African soccer star Bongani Zungu, who’s in one of the top five leagues in Europe, speaks about his next big career goal – and he’s only 25.

Bongani Zungu is in many ways the poster-boy for South African football, a skilled technician whose ability on the pitch is matched by his determination and desire off it.
The Bafana Bafana midfielder has been something of a rarity of late – a player who has made the step up to feature in Europe and not just succeeded, but also taken his own game to a new level in a rapid rise through the ranks.
It did not come easily for the 25-year-old, who at times was riddled with self-doubt, but he had the grit to work through the hard times and now finds himself at Amiens in France’s Ligue 1, considered one of the top five leagues in Europe and therefore the world.
“I have always worked hard and set myself goals to achieve… I have never got to a point where I thought, ok, I have made it,” Zungu tells FORBES AFRICA.
<blockquote>“My first goal was to be a professional footballer and I achieved that. Then I wanted to play for the national team and I achieved that too.</blockquote>
“My next goal was to play in Europe and I have managed that also. But for me now, it is important to take a step up to play in a competition like the [UEFA] Champions League. That is my next goal and something I am working hard towards.”
Zungu missed the start of the new 2018/19 season in France with injury, and was also the subject of a reported €7-million ($8 million) bid from Greek side Olympiakos, which would make him the most expensive South African footballer ever.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/sport/2014/11/01/african-football-cup-aces-sleeve/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: African, Football, Cup Up Aces’ Sleeve</a>
The link to the Greek giants is their Portuguese coach Pedro Martins, who Zungu forged a strong bond with when the pair were together at Vitória de Guimarães in Portugal.
And that part of his European journey tells you everything you need to know about the affable Duduza-born star.
Zungu made his professional bow in the 2011/12 Premier Soccer League season for Dynamos and later University of Pretoria in the National First Division, but his attributes quickly caught the eye of Mamelodi Sundown coach Pitso Mosimane.
He made the move to Chloorkop (the training and administrative offices of Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club) the following campaign, with Sundowns holding off a number of other suitors, and immediately made himself a first team regular with his quality on the ball and eye for goal.
“I felt very comfortable at Sundowns from the start, I had a very good relationship with Coach Pitso and especially [assistant] Coach Rhulani [Mokwena]. I owe them a lot for the opportunity and I kept in touch with them long after I left the club.”
After three seasons, Zungu was snapped up as a free agent by Vitória, but he arrived at the club with a long-term injury that left him unable to train and not looking the part.
“When I arrived at the club, I think they [the other players] looked at me limping around and overweight and wondered what I was doing there. It was a very frustrating time for me because this was my big break to play in Europe and I couldn’t prove to them what I could do.”
But Zungu made his recovery his focus and rather than wallow in his misfortune, ensured that when he was fit again, he would be both physically and mentally ready for the challenge.
His opportunity would come, ironically, when an injury to teammate Rafael Miranda sidelined the experienced Brazilian and Zungu was thrust into the side at the end of 2016.
He would not look back, establishing himself as a regular, and earning almost cult status among the fans, who loved his languid style.
“The supporters were great to me, they gave me a lot of encouragement from the first time they saw me play. Maybe it was because they had to wait so long to see me because of my injury!
“And the coach Pedro Martins, he is a lot like Coach Pitso, he is very demanding of his players, but in a good way. He knows how to get the best out of you as a player and that certainly helped me. He is so disappointed if you do not reach the level he thinks you should be at.”
There was talk of a move to Portuguese giants Benfica after the end of that 2016/17 season after Zungu scored in a Portuguese Cup final loss to the Lisbon side, but in the end he made a late transfer deadline move to Amiens in France, a step up in terms of league.
He had another successful 2017/18 season, making 28 appearances in all competitions, and he appears ever closer to that ultimate club goal of playing in the Champions League, though he will likely have to make another move to achieve it.
“It’s been my dream, it always will be my dream. I hope I can achieve it one day because for me to feel like I truly ‘made it’, I think I need to be playing on the biggest club stage of all and that is the Champions league.”
&#8211; By Nick Said

Tag: football

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