Ramaphosa urges sponsors, sports bodies to prioritise women’s sports
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President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on sponsors and sporting bodies to direct greater resources to women’s sports. In his weekly letter to the nation today, the President lauds the recent successes of South Africa’s female athletes.
Ramaphosa highlights the performance of Banyana Banyana in the FIFA World Cup, the Proteas strong showing at the Netball World Cup and the women’s cricket team that reached the T20 ICC World Cup earlier this year.
Ahead of National Women’s Day, the President says it is an affront to the country’s sports women that they still earn less than their male counterparts, saying equal pay for work of equal value is one of the most fundamental tenets of gender equality.
Ramaphosa has lamented the fact that male-dominated team sports like football, cricket and rugby still receive the lion’s share of funding and sponsorship.
The President claims that these sports all have professional leagues, whereas women’s football, cricket, and rugby do not, adding that it is only through greater sponsorship and support that women’s sport will be able to grow and attract larger audiences which will in return provide greater value to sponsors.
Details of Ramaphosa’s letter below:
Dear Fellow South African,
This has been a great year for women’s sport in South Africa.
Our female athletes have reached new heights across a number of sporting codes, and we have hosted several women’s international sports tournaments. As a nation we are exhilarated by the… pic.twitter.com/eHtJ4BfjU4
— Cyril Ramaphosa (@CyrilRamaphosa) August 7, 2023