South African Football Association (Safa) president Danny Jordaan will attend the Fifa Women’s World Cup opening match between co-hosts New Zealand and Norway amid Banyana Banyana bonus dispute.
Jordaan has been invited by Fifa to attend the game that will set the tone for the global showpiece. New Zealand and Norway lock horns at Eden Park, Auckland on Thursday.
Recently, Safa declared in a statement that the association will not pay Banyana’s technical team the R115 000 announced during the Motsepe Foundation media conference, where a R6-million bailout was donated to the association.
The trip is set to present Jordaan with an opportunity to engage global football decision-makers around South Africa’s bid to host the 2027 Women’s World Cup.
“This presents a unique opportunity to promote the interests of South Africa,” Jordaan said.
“Fifa is also organising a workshop for all the bidding countries in Sydney, Australia on the 8 August 2023.
“The bidding nations will get an opportunity to engage directly with global delegates and the Fifa leadership in Australia.”
Jordaan and a Safa delegation, led by CEO Lydia Monyepao, will also engage Fifa on the terms and conditions for South Africa’s participation in the qualification rounds for the 2026 World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the United States of America.
He is expected to then switch to Wellington to join the Banyana camp, as coach Desiree Ellis and her charges gear up for their opening encounter against tournament favourites Sweden on July 23.
Banyana will be looking to avoid all the noise that is coming from South Africa and the association in a bid to focus on a tough assignment ahead of them.
They will have to come face to face against Sweden, Argentina and Italy on their way to qualifying for the knockout stages of the competition.
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