South Africa’s 2023 Women’s World Cup players’ demand for higher pay has been resolved and they will travel to New Zealand on Wednesday as planned.
Billionaire Patrice Motsepe and his wife Precious Motsepe, founders of the Motsepe Foundation, pledged funds to resolve the pay dispute between the players and the national association.
The squad members had raised concerns about their contracts, stating that the promised $30,000 (27,500 euros) appearance fee, allocated by FIFA for each of the 23 players, was not included.
The dispute caused a renewed conversation around gender pay gaps in sports in the country.
Speaking at a press conference in Johannesburg Precious Motsepe emphasized the need for genuine action on gender equality, stating that the current moment should go beyond mere lip-service.
During the press briefing, the South African Football Players Union announced that in addition to the FIFA fee, each player would be granted a bonus of 230,000 rand.
Australia and New Zealand are co-hosting the World Cup from July 20 and African champions South Africa, Morocco, Nigeria and Zambia are representing the continent.
As a result of the disagreement, Banyana Banyana (The Girls) were unable to participate in a send-off match against Botswana near Johannesburg last Sunday. Instead, a hastily assembled team of South African lower-league players suffered a 5-0 loss.