The SA Football Association (Safa) bosses will be hoping to leverage on Banyana Banyana’s historic win over Italy on Wednesday.
On Thursday, Safa and its bid committee officials will meet with Fifa in Australia to discuss South Africa’s keenness to host the Women’s World Cup in 2027.
Safa is encouraged by Banyana’s feat after the national team made history by qualifying for knockout stages for the first time in history.
They beat Italy 3-2 to book a clash with the Netherlands on Sunday.
The association will be hoping that the win will propel and spearhead the bid to host the Fifa Women’s World Cup for the first time on African soil.
The Safa delegation will be led by the association’s president Danny Jordaan, Safa CEO Lydia Monyepao, 2027 bid committee chair Tumi Dlamini, bid lead Russell Paul, and Safa Women’s head Romaney Pinnock.
“This is the first time that the bid committee will meet with the leadership of Fifa since Safa made its submission in March,” bid committee chair Dlamini told Safa media.
“While there will likely be other opportunities for meetings of this nature in future, I strongly believe that first impressions last.
“So, it is going to be critical for us to make the most compelling case for why the Fifa Women’s World Cup must be hosted in Africa for the very first time.
“Other bidding nations will be present and we will likely be able to meet them and have engagements with them as well.
“But the most important thing is for us to keep our eyes on the ball, the big prize. Whilst it might be very tempting to see what their proposition is, our objective this week is to make a case for South Africa.
“I have no doubt that with the strong delegation that we have, ours will be a successful mission. Having said this, it is still early days in the bidding process.
“This first step, although crucial, is not by any means the most determining step.
“There is much still to be done by the committee both at home and abroad in terms of our campaign.
“We have a lot to do with the support of the people of South Africa and the whole continent.”
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