Fran Hilton-Smith disheartened by the disruptive start into 2025 HWBSL season

The Super League is still not in full swing, with SAFA confirming further delays in the kick-off of some fixtures this month -  this due to their ongoing contract negotiations with league sponsors Hollywoodbets.

This sees teams such as Richmond United, Royal Am and the University of Pretoria still await to kick a ball, while teams such as the University of Fort Hare, UWC, UCT, Ezemvelo, Durban Ladies and City Lads have only played once.

Speaking exclusively to SABC Sport, Hilton Smith says the match delays are lowering the standard of the league and women’s football in the country.

"The Hollywoodbets is an elite league starting in a disruptive manner makes it hard for the fans a bit disheartening and of course this should not be happening in an elite league. The Hollywoodbets League, it's the flagship, it's the classy premier league and it lowers the calibre certainly it's not the way that everyone would have liked this season to kick off," Hilton-Smith said.

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Hilton-Smith adds that it is unacceptable to have the two parties undertake negotiations long after the league has kicked off, stating that it means the league is not being prioritised.

"It's just unacceptable that at this point we still negotiating SAFA, Hollywoodbets that should have been done long ago. Timeously, it should have been a priority, it makes you wonder how women's football is prioritised if now long after the league is supposed to have kicked off,” she added.

“So, I think really should have been sorted out long ago even during the last season but certainly before the league kicked off. It's just unacceptable."

SABC Sport has also established that some club bosses have had to cover travel allowances from their own pockets while waiting for delayed stipends from the SA football mother body.

Hilton-Smith says this is a norm in the league, that only teams with financial muscle get to survive over teams that do not have sponsors.

"This of course is financially impacting on them and the running of a team but it's one of the challenges that teams face in the Hollywoodbets League is that obviously the teams that have big sponsors, Sundowns [Mamelodi Sundowns], TS Galaxy, the universities who have funding for them they can try and push on,” she explained.

“But for the other clubs who don't have sponsors, your JVW, Durban Ladies, there are so many in the lower level that don't have big sponsors for them it's gonna be really a cost factor that's gonna impact on the expense of the team which is already far exceeds what they get every year in the funding."