Share

Women’s soccer deserves to be taken seriously

THE day of the Gauteng storm was memorable to me for two other reasons: I bought a kif new pair of hiking shoes, and on the hail-strewn route home, I was riveted by a fascinating discussion on Bongani Bingwa’s 702 afternoon drive.

The trigger was a decision by the Norwegian Football Association to pay women on an equal basis to men – the men’s team gave up part of their budget to make things more equitable (and that’s a simplistic explanation). Should Banyana Banyana be paid the same as Bafana Bafana?

First, hats off to several men who phoned in to say that of course they should – and especially to the guy who declared that, on the basis of the merits, the women should be paid more than the men; because, of course, Banyana Banyana have won bigger than Bafana Bafana for some time.

They got their fourth title in five COSAFA finals, winning 2-1 against Zim on September 24, with Leandra Smeda heading the winning goal in with just a minute to go! (The win put women’s sport onto the sports pages of mainstream publications, where you normally hardly see a woman – unless it’s Lewis Hamilton’s girlfriend – from one Wimbledon to the next.)

But many callers scoffed. The women’s game is simply not interesting, said several men. “You’d fall asleep if you had to watch 90 minutes of that,” said one (or words to that effect).

Bingwa caught out a couple of such callers in elegant style, simply by asking when last they watched a game and who the Banyana Banyana captain is (none could offer either the name Refiloe Jane who captained the team to its win, or the absent Janine van Wyk, doing a six-month stint in the States.)

You don’t watch something you have put in a box as ‘boring’ before even giving it a real chance. Lack of media attention is a major factor here – it’s the breath of life to a sport. Ask anyone in men’s hockey, archery or even rowing what more media attention would do for them.

As Purdue Professor Cheryl Cooky points out, “a lot of our perceptions of how interesting women’s sports are come from the media itself. ‘Men’s sports are going to seem more exciting,’ she says. ‘They have higher production values, higher-quality coverage, and higher-quality commentary ... When you watch women’s sports, and there are fewer camera angles, fewer cuts to shot, fewer instant replays, yeah, it’s going to seem to be a slower game, [and] it’s going to seem to be less exciting.’[…] ‘The media plays a huge role in building and sustaining audiences for sport and they do it very well for men’s sports and they do it horribly for women’s sports.’” 

And if you approach a viewing experience expecting the negative, you won’t be open to the possibilities. Before Bend it Like Beckham, I had no idea that women’s soccer existed. Watching a few games since, mostly via YouTube rather than on the box, showed me that women’s ball skills and teamwork can provide exciting – but different – viewing.

If real attention was paid to women’s soccer, sports reporters would be focused on the skills women players excel in. Because of course the women play a different game; they are not on average going to be as fast or strong as players in the men’s Bundesliga.

That doesn’t mean they won’t be entertaining (just as Martina Hingis’s tactical game was, for many, more watchable than Pete Sampras’s style, once referred to as “numbingly powerful”, just thwack, thwack, thwack). 

I found a good analogy on the Atlantic website: “If people only paid attention to the top performers, there would be no categories apart from ‘heavyweight’ in sports like boxing. [Feather/light/welterweight] Floyd Mayweather can get easily beaten by a heavyweight, but he is the one who gets more money and attention in that sport.”

People who care about skill and technique in boxing will be as game to watch a good flyweight as heavyweight Anthony Joshua (thwack, thwack, thwack).

Men’s soccer has had more than a hundred years of sustained popular and media interest and investment to grow into the big business it is today – the professional players a century ago were earning the equivalent of about R15,000 a month; compared to today’s average of over a million a month.

Back then they had a coach; today teams have a professional entourage that includes doctors, sports psychologists, physiotherapists and more.

And back then, there were women playing; one women’s game drew 50 000 spectators. So natch, the Football Association banned women’s games from the grounds used by its clubs in 1921 – and that ban stayed in effect till 1971.

The FIFA World Cup was first held in 1930; the FIFA Women’s World Cup was established in 1991. That gap counts in terms of awareness and, crucially, funding.

Men, you have the leverage here, because sports coverage is so heavily aimed at you. Imagine if your little daughter turned out to be a talented soccer player: wouldn’t it hurt to see her struggle to realise her dreams?

If equal pay is not feasible, at least give women’s soccer the oxygen of respectful audience attention instead of mockery. Women (and sports journalists), get behind women teams too. And to Bongwani Bingwa and Morena Mothupi: respect for paying attention!

  • Mandi Smallhorne is a versatile journalist and editor. Views expressed are her own. Follow her on Twitter.


We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.94
-0.2%
Rand - Pound
23.91
-0.1%
Rand - Euro
20.43
+0.2%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.34
+0.1%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.2%
Platinum
910.50
+1.5%
Palladium
1,011.50
+1.0%
Gold
2,221.35
+1.2%
Silver
24.87
+0.9%
Brent Crude
86.09
-0.2%
Top 40
68,346
+1.0%
All Share
74,536
+0.8%
Resource 10
57,251
+2.8%
Industrial 25
103,936
+0.6%
Financial 15
16,502
-0.1%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders