On Saturday, South African Football Association (SAFA) CEO Tebogo Motlanthe addressed the media regarding Banyana Banyana’s trip to Turkey amidst the recent 7.8 magnitude earthquake that has reportedly claimed the lives of around 40 000 people.
Motlanthe explained that the trip was necessary for the team’s preparation for the FIFA Women’s World Cup. He said that they had done their “due diligence” after engaging with FIFA and the organizers of the tournament to ensure the safety of the team.
“The issue of Banyana playing in Turkey, I know most of you wanted interviews and I was not giving interviews for a reason that we did not want to scare the players,” Motlanthe said in a press conference.
“But the procedure that we have followed, 1, as you know the team was supposed to be playing in Cyprus, in a Cyprus Cup and later Cyprus decided to trim and we were no longer invited, you know that you go by invitation. And before the earthquake happened, we then received an invite from Turkey, which the TD (Walter Steenbok) and the coach (Desiree Ellis) discussed and felt that it was a good thing to do,” he continued.
Motlanthe also addressed the moral implications of going to Turkey at a time of national disaster, saying that they had written to many federations and not received an opponent and that it was important for the team to have the opportunity to prepare for the World Cup.
“But also the coach, we had to take the preparation because the coach says, ‘I’m in a critical stage, I only have three windows before the World Cup,” he said. “So if I leave this chance to go, it means I’m left with two, how do I then choose the team?’ So after having a meeting with the coach and the technical director we then took a decision that the team will go and participate,” he added.
Banyana opened their tournament with a 3-0 win over Uzbekistan on Saturday.
