On Friday, he South African Football Association (SAFA) revealed that they are yet to make a decision on Banyana Banyana’s participation in this month’s Turkish Women’s Cup following the recent devastating earthquake.
Thousands of people died and many more are missing in the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck the region earlier this week. The tournament, which was scheduled to take place later this month, includes teams from Bulgaria, Estonia, Kosovo, Hong Kong, Jordan, North Macedonia, Slovenia, South Africa, Uzbekistan and Zambia.
In a statement, SAFA said that they have consulted widely on the matter and have engaged extensively with the Director for Member Associations, FIFA, the Turkish Ambassador and the organisers of the tournament.
They have also had discussions with Zambia, one of the participating teams. “We hope this clarifies the matter as gossip develops a false narrative,” the statement said. “All this feedback will be given to the team in camp, and a final decision on whether to travel to Turkey or not will be announced.” The safety of the players and officials is of utmost importance to SAFA, and they are taking the matter very seriously.
