USSA sees opportunity for PSL teams to be complete sports clubs

SuperSport United, Sekhukhune United, and Orlando Pirates are expected to comply with CAF regulations by having a women's team or entering into a signed agreement with an existing club. Mahlangu says this could be an opportunity for PSL teams to become full-fledged sports clubs.

"It's not only about professional clubs, but it is about collaborations across the board. I'll use the Al-Ahly example. Al-Ahly has a basketball team, they have a volleyball team. So, I think it's really important for, I'll say business owners because professional clubs are businesses, to look at diversifying their products”, she told SABC Sport. 

Sekhukhune are strongly linked to the Vaal University of Technology (VUT), while SABC Sport revealed Matsantsa a Pitoli's pending deal with the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) with Pirates apparently in talks with the University of Johannesburg (UJ) and Wits University also being considered. According to Mahlangu, clubs can use this opportunity to drive community programs.

“At the end of the day, whilst you have a football team, what stops you from having a basketball team because they have a responsibility to contribute to their communities and having these different offerings it would really help a lot of the children within the communities. 

"It will also alleviate social ills. When it comes to universities, I always say to people, through sports, you can get educated. These athletes are students first, then they are athletes. But important is that people must always look at what they can do for their communities as opposed to what the community can do for them.”

Mahlangu, a former South African Football Association (SAFA NEC member and current Director of Sport at UJ argues clubs have the capacity and resources to take women's football to the next level while also assisting underprivileged women's teams.