A CALL FROM THE CHAIRMAN OF AFRICAN CLUBS ASSOCIATION TO CHIEFS AND PIRATES

Written by: Kamogelo Mogale

Young Africans SC president and chairman of the newly established African Clubs Association (ACA) Engineer Hersi Ally Said has urged South African Soweto giants Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates to establish their women teams.

Amakhosi and the Buccaneers  are some of the biggest clubs in Africa that have yet to establish women’s football teams in order to participate in the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederations Cup as per the call from African Football mother body CAF.

Reigning DStv Premiership champions Mamelodi Sundowns, Royal AM, TS Galaxy and recently SuperSport United who partnered with Tshwane University of Technology are the only clubs in the Premier Soccer League to have established their women’s teams.

Speaking to the members of the South African Football Journalists Association (SAFJA) at the Capital Hotel in Sandton, north of Johannesburg, on Wednesday, Hersi Ally Said emphasised the importance of big clubs on the African continent having women’s teams especially the Soweto giants.

“As far as I understand, there is compliance licencing for clubs put out by the CAF [Confederation of African Football], that you must have a women’s team,” Said explains.

“In the next few years, they will be very strict that Chiefs and Pirates must have women’s teams because on the club licencing there is that element that you must have a women’s team for you to participate in the CAF competitions,” Said further explained.

“I am sure in the next few years that CAF will put it as a standard condition that you can’t participate in the tournaments if you don’t have a women’s team registered.”

“You cannot have a big team and not have a women’s team. It’s very important that they do because women’s football is one of the fastest-growing sport in the world, and there is no way we can run away from that,” Said concluded.

It is alleged that both Chiefs and Pirates were in talks with JVW FC and UJ Ladies FC last year in a quest to form their women’s teams but talks fell through. It remains to be seen when CAF will implement the compliance and when will the Soweto giants establish their women’s teams.