Batsirai Sango.
The 2023 FIFA women’s world cup has been such a delight to watch bringing with it so much exhilaration and nail-biting moments to the football loving global community.
The eighth edition of the women’s world cup has been set ablaze by some of the most enthralling performances from the ladies showing the levels of technical ability that even some of their male counterparts in the game do not possess.
Who can forget the solo goal from Ajara Nchout at France 2019, 4 years ago scoring one of the most incredible, outstanding solo goals in stoppage time sending Cameroun into the knockout stages. The sheer confidence, calmness and clarity of what she had to do considering the stakes simply marvelous and you cannot say the same across the man’s game where some big players have choked at those moments.
It is and has been heartwarming to note that our own African ladies have played a starring role bringing with them not only the football flair, but also the beauty and elegance of African women and the continent.
The football showpiece has been historic in many ways with the first time the continent having 4 representatives in the Copper Queens of Zambia, the Atlas Lionesses of Morrocco, the Super Falcons of Nigeria and Banyana-Banyana of South Africa.
With all teams out of the football showpiece now one can only applaud the effort from the ladies and call for more support of the women’s game on the continent. The Super Falcons of Nigeria met the Lionesses of England in the last 16 and what an epic match it was, with the English ladies finishing the match a player short.
The Super Falcons of Nigeria were simply on another level getting the continent’s first win at the global showpiece when they played over the underdog tag to beat hosts Australia in Brisbane 3-2. The highlight was the celebration by Asisat Oshoala after scoring the winning goal, taking her shirt off sending chills of passion down the spine of a cheering continent.
With nothing separating the two teams it had to go to the penalty lottery and the Super Falcons came short losing to the Lionesses on 4-2 though our super Falcons had been the better side of the two. Another representative from the continent was Banyana-Banyana of South Africa who put the Italian ladies to the sword winning 3-2 on their way to the knockout stages of the global showpiece.
In the post-match sentiments, the Italian ladies were full praise for the ladies from South Africa for their football ability more so considering not having a running local league for women in South Africa and in most of the continent.
In the last 16 South Africa met the Dutch ladies eventually losing to the Netherlands by 2 goals to nil, however it is key to note the levels of competition they gave to their European counterparts almost at par with them despite the amount investment at their disposal.
It is the enormous potential our beautiful ladies exhibited, considering and regardless of the quagmire the women’s game continues to be in, that should be the motivation to the investor community and administrators on the continent to give the same support given to the man’s game.
A collective approach is thus needed in order for the ladies to be competitive as the man, and out of the 4 African representatives 2 made it to the knockout stage an indication of the enormous potential the ladies to challenge the world football hierarchy and maybe one day conquer it.
It is the hope of every progressive African, that CAF under the visionary leadership of Patrice Motsepe the women’s game on the continent will be on the upward trajectory, after the stellar show they put on behalf of the continent at the world cup.