Kaizer Chiefs Marketing and Commercial Director, Jessica Motaung, has explained why the club are yet to launch their own women’s team.
Motaung was present at the launch of a new partnership with Correctional Services and FIFA Foundation for the Empowerment of Female Inmates.
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The so-called “Twinning Project” is aimed at the empowerment and rehabilitation of female inmates through sports and life skills development.
With Chiefs focussing on female inmates, of course question marks about Amakhosi’s own women’s team were raised once again.
“Building a team is about growing from the ground up. We have other initiatives on the ground that we’ll be doing,” Motaung explained.
“And certainly that is a project we are working [on] and continue to work with.
“Today is a testament to the fact that we are putting a stake in the ground and saying woman’s football is important to us and we’re partnering with difference people to make sure that that happens.”
Motaung also opened up on some of the challenges which are holding the club from fully investing into the female game just yet.
“There are many challenges – infrastructure challenges, investment challenges,” she continued.
“A lot of people are willing to invest at a high level, but not willing to invest in the building the foundation of women’s football.
“There are sponsors who I must say have done a great job in making sure they invest. I see challenges around the broadness and the need across the board.
“Also not a clear understanding what the women need vs what men need, that’s the challenges that women’s football has been lunged in with the men’s game has been put together.
“It’s really building the women’s game for women’s game, for the African women. That’s important.”
Lastly, Motaung gave her overall thoughts on the development of women’s football, saying more wore at grassroots level needs to be done.
“I think there’s still a lot of work to be done,” she added.
“I’m still discouraged, I see there is too much focus on a national level. Definitely a lot of work to be done. The future of women’s football has great potential.
“I’ve just come back from the UK, just seeing how the clubs are working there. I just know there is a lot of hope for us. But a lot of collaborations that need to be done at a corporate level because it needs corporate sponsorships.
“At a grassroots level, in terms of making sure there is facilities available that suit women, not men, that suit women. That’s also very important.
“I think there is a great future for women’s football but it requires a lot collaboration and I think it’s a daunting task. I have seen it and I think we’re going to have to take one bite at a time.”
