“No Women’s Teams, No CAF Football”: Nathi Mthethwa Warns Premier Soccer League Sides to Form New Teams

• Premier Soccer League teams face the risk of missing out on continental football if they don't start women's soccer teams
• Sports Minister Nathi Mthethwa has called on Premier Soccer League sides to help boost women's soccer by forming their own teams
• Mamelodi Sundowns are the only Premier Soccer League side to already have a women's football team

As the world celebrates International Women’s Day today, more focus is now on women in sports than ever before.

Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Nathi Mthethwa, wants Premier Soccer League teams to lead the charge, or face serious consequences.

“All recognized men’s clubs as for this year 2022 will be required to have a female team in their set up in order to participate in the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederations Cups,” Mthethwa was quoted as saying by The South African.

Currently, only Mamelodi Sundowns have a women’s team, a team that has already won the CAF Women’s Champions League.

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Boxing

Royal AM, Kaizer Chiefs, and Orlando Pirates are currently fighting it out for the continental qualifying spots in the DStv Premiership, but do not have a women’s team setup. Now with Mthethwa putting his foot down, these teams will be forced to start women’s teams this year or lose their places in CAF competitions next season.

Banyana Banyana are proof of the strength in women's football as the team recently qualified for the African Women's Cup of Nations (AWCON).

The focus on promoting women in sports has seen a recent upsurge in the country. Recently, South Africa’s Director of Rugby, Rassie Erasmus, said that women’s rugby was a priority, Sport24 confirmed.

Currently, South Africa has a Springbok Women and Springbok Women’s Sevens teams. The teams will be playing in two Rugby World Cup tournaments this season, proving that much can be achieved in women’s sports.

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Football

Banyana Banyana beat Algeria 3:1 on aggregate, qualify for the Africa Women Cup of Nations in Morocco

Banyana Banyana have brought some pride to the nation as they qualified for the Africa Women Cup of Nations Tournament (AWCON). Banyana beat Algeria 3-1 on aggregate to book their place in next year’s tournament, which will be held in Morocco.

Going into the game, Banyana had a 2 goal advantage thanks to their win over Algeria in South Africa but knew they faced stern opposition in the return leg at the Stade Omar Hamadi in Algeria, Sports Brief reported.

Their resolve was tested often during the second leg clash as Algeria started to pile on the pressure. The hosts then scored at the half-hour mark, but the goal was disallowed, Soccer Laduma confirmed.