4 August 2023 – The South African Football Association (SAFA) delegation that is currently in Sydney, Australia, is happy with the way things panned out at a workshop and observer programme hosted by FIFA this week for the bidding nations for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
South Africa is bidding to host the 2027 global tournament and will be up against Brazil, joint bids from Mexico and the United States of America, and the trio of Belgium, Netherlands and Germany.
The SAFA delegation, comprising of President Dr Danny Jordaan, SAFA CEO Lydia Monyepao, 2027 Bid Committee chair Tumi Dlamini, Bid Lead Russell Paul and SAFA Women’s Head Romaney Pinnock, used the workshop to impress upon FIFA as to why it is important for South Africa to be awarded the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
“I think it went very well,” the SAFA President told www.www.safa.net. “As I said in the beginning, we have confirmed that 70% of the infrastructure of stadiums, training venues, accommodation and many other things are already in place. There we are very strong.”
Dr Jordaan said from SAFA’s own assessment of the FIFA workshop, this week was a very insightful and comprehensive approach to the main issues that have be considered by all the bidding nation.
“We can just reaffirm our position that given the fact that we hosted a successful World Cup in South Africa in 2010, which was a 32-nations tournament, this FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2027 is no different as it will be a 32-nations event as well. South Africa, in terms of the focus on infrastructure, we are in a strong position. The SAFA delegation engaged with several international influencers and we will continue to work hard to strengthen our chances for the bid.”
The SAFA President also sent his best wishes to all the African teams that have qualified for the Round of 16 of the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
After emerging from the group stages this week, Banyana Banyana will face the Netherlands on Sunday, Nigeria tackle England on Monday, while Morocco have a date against France on Tuesday.
“I went to see Banyana Banyana today, and I spoke to Refiloe Jane and Thembi Kgatlana. The team is in high spirits and ready to fight against the Netherlands on Sunday. I did send messages of congratulations to Nigeria and Morocco after they reached the Round of 16. We are happy to see the progress of women’s football on the continent.
“South Africa is regarded as one of the leading Federations in the advancement of women’s football. In a landmark report, CAF has shown that South Africa has the highest number of registered women footballers. We have the highest number of women coaches, and we are one of the few Federations where all of our women’s teams are coached by women coaches.”