The South African Football Association (Safa) president, Danny Jordaan, has confirmed that the financial disagreement between the mother body and Banyana Banyana has been resolved.
This is after news broke out on Saturday morning that the Banyana team had downed tools and boycotted a training session due to issues surrounding payments. This development is just days before they kick off their Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) campaign.
However, Jordaan confirmed to the media during the Safa NEC Congress at the Sandton Convention Centre on Saturday that the matter has been resolved and the team will be back to preparing for their Wafcon title defence.
Big-wigs got involved
“That matter has been resolved. The CEO [Lydia Monyepao] and the Vice President [Linda Zwane] dealt with the matter,” Jordaan said with conviction.
Zwane weighed in on the matter, saying it was easy to resolve because it was minor.
“We are aware of the situation in Morocco, and we have dealt with the matter swiftly after it appeared and it was made known to us, and what then happens is that I think it’s a minor issue,” Zwane said.
“It’s an issue of the payments of the previous games that they played, particularly the Malawi game, which the association had then undertaken to address.
“So, there’s an agreement that has been reached with the team through their captain [Refiloe Jane] and in as far as we’re concerned, that particular matter is now buried.”
Zwane continued: “The association has made commitments towards that, making sure that the players continue with their preparation, as we want them to perform very well in the tournament.”
Safa CEO Lydia Monyepao also had her say on the cause of the Banyana mini-strike and confirmed that the problem was about the settlement of bonuses.
“The questions came in terms of settlement of the bonuses before departing to Morocco [on Monday], and the CFO [Gronie Hluyo] did address that matter,” Monyepao said.
“However, the disagreement arose in terms of the payment dates, regarding the bonuses, but we have since addressed that matter. We know that we have a commitment to the players. We normally pay 30 days after a friendly match.
“But I think we as a federation, where we are right now in terms of our financial performance, was covered extensively in the Congress and deliberated in terms of how we move forward in ensuring that, going forward, we can meet our obligations. But as the vice president has said, the matter has been settled,” Monyepao added.
Banyana Banyana will play their official Wafcon opening match on 7 July against Ghana.
