By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The wage dispute between WAFCON defending champions Banyana Banyana, and the South African Football Association (SAFA) has been resolved, the football association confirmed.
This was confirmed by SAFA CEO Lydia Monyepao during SAFA Congress held in Sandton on Saturday.
The players are demanding immediate payment of outstanding salaries for their April and June camps, which were part of coach Desiree Ellis’ WAFCON preparations.
Monyepao, acknowledged that match bonuses weren’t paid, but said the matter has now been settled.
The players refused to attend a scheduled training session in Casablanca on Thursday ahead of the WAFCON tournament starting in Morocco next weekend
Banyana Banyana will now continue their preparations in Casablanca before moving to Oudja, where all of their group fixtures will be played.
Meanwhile the congress was delayed for over a year, is expected to tackle major issues like SAFA’s finances and the growing pressure on Danny Jordaan.
Jordaan is caught up in a court case over fraud and corruption charges tied to his time at SAFA. He is accused of using SAFA’s funds for personal gain. Specifically, he’s accused of hiring a public relations firm and a private security company without the SAFA board’s approval.
The four regions—Joe Gqabi, Kenneth Kaunda, Francis Baard, and Uthukela—want Jordaan out of the president’s chair until his court case is finalised.