Duncan: The Diamond Cup Is Special
By Malose Wa Ga Lamola
As she digs into the Diamond Cup shaft, co-founder of JVW Football For Girls Lauren Duncan discusses football growth. A knockout tournament is required to make up for the Hollywoodbets Super League, according to the Johannesburg born administrator. Banyana Banyana team manager praises South African football players who represent their country proudly abroad.
Established by the JVW Schools competition, the Diamond Cup gives female athletes a stage on which to display their abilities. The diamond is the most fitting symbol for everything precious and valuable. Schoolgirls enter the competition with as much raw beauty as possible. In an effort to polish unique diamonds, JVW Football For Girls is mining for raw diamonds in the Diamond Cup.
"The Diamond cup is a 32 team high school tournament held over two days, over the Women's day holiday. The tournament is an initiative by the JVW Schools League, bringing 32 teams and over 640 girls to compete for the Cup and Plate in the competition. The JVW Diamond League is a girls high school league that has been running since 2012 and has over 172 teams actively participating throughout the season throughout Gauteng, and although the league consists of U15, U16, U17 and Open age groups, the Diamond Cup is an Open age group tournament. This year was the second edition of the tournament, where in the first edition the competition was inspired by the Women's World Cup which was being played at the same time in New Zealand and Australia." Duncan said.
The Gauteng Women's Development League is another competition that nurtures young talent, and Duncan is hopeful it will grow from strength to strength. Duncan's saying that the league has a great deal of value for young girls. She hopes the league will find them as young as eight years of age in a notsodistant future and train them so that they are competitive with their national leagues. The league provides girls between 16 and 14 years of age with an opportunity to experience the League format, which will allow them to adjust easily when they reach a higher level in football.
"The Launch of the U14 and U16 GWDL leagues has definitely added another competitive edge to women's football development, and we are starting to witness more and more clubs being able to field girls teams of younger age groups. While we still push to create a more competitive nature, there is now a space for girls to grow in the sport and be able to compete against other girls teams within a league format. In the coming years I am certain there will be leagues that cater for girls from as young as U8 all the way up to the National league, and with this, women's football in the country will continue to strengthen." Duncan applauds the launch of GWDL.
The trajectory of women's football in South Africa continues to rise. Despite the rapid growth of the game, the Hollywoodbets Super League is not enough to compete on its own. Duncan says the league needs to be supplemented by a tournament of elimination. She claims that this will increase the competitiveness of women's football and make it more attractive for sponsors.
"I think a knock out tournament would be a great idea, to bring in a different element and create more excitement around womens football, and perhaps open doors to other potential sponsors. If there is opportunity to do this, it would mean extra game time for players in an already tight schedule especially with the International breaks, the COSAFA Champions League and CAF Champions league competitions." Said Duncan.
Banyana Banyana stars Thembi Kgatlana and Jermaine Seoposenwe battled for the Champion of Champions title in Mexico. Kgatlana' turned for Tigres UANL while Seoposenwe was in Rayadas de Monterrey stripes in the Mexican Super Cup. 2024 Clausura champions; Rayadas of Seoposenwe; Tigres UANL of Kgatlana won the Apertura. This pitted these sides in the Trofeo de Campeon de Campeones (Super Cup). Both stars were on the scoreboard as Kgatlana equalised early on in the second half after going into the halftime break trailing. Tigres took the lead only for Seoposenwe to level matters a few minutes later. Duncan says South Africa is the greatest winner, no matter who wins on that day. Manager of Banyana believes that the duo will inspire young girls to participate in football, and this experience will be invaluable for Banyana Banyana.
"It's awesome to see our South African players playing off in leagues around the world, and many girls are inspired by the moves that the Internationals are making. This does show that players can continue to pursue a career in the sport. It is great that the world of women's football continues to open up to the South African market as we have so many talented footballers in the country, and of course being exposed to major competitions allows for this." Duncan sealed.
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