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South Africa Women's World Cup Captain Says Team Resolved Pay Dispute

South Africa's captain Refiloe Jane speaks at a press conference ahead of their game against Sweden at the Women's World Cup in Wellington, New Zealand, Saturday, July 22, 2023. South Africa and Sweden play their opening match Sunday July 23. (AP Photo/Alysa Rubin)
South Africa's captain Refiloe Jane speaks at a press conference ahead of their game against Sweden at the Women's World Cup in Wellington, New Zealand, Saturday, July 22, 2023. South Africa and Sweden play their opening match Sunday July 23. (AP Photo/Alysa Rubin)
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South Africa Women's World Cup Captain Says Team Resolved Pay Dispute

South Africa's captain Refiloe Jane speaks at a press conference ahead of their game against Sweden at the Women's World Cup in Wellington, New Zealand, Saturday, July 22, 2023. South Africa and Sweden play their opening match Sunday July 23. (AP Photo/Alysa Rubin)
South Africa's captain Refiloe Jane speaks at a press conference ahead of their game against Sweden at the Women's World Cup in Wellington, New Zealand, Saturday, July 22, 2023. South Africa and Sweden play their opening match Sunday July 23. (AP Photo/Alysa Rubin)

South African players are committed to playing in the Women’s World Cup following disputes around player and support staff pay, and the team captain on Saturday assured fans back home they are fully focused on their upcoming tournament matches.
Team captain Refiloe Jane confirmed that all disputes with the South African federation had been settled before the tournament’s start, including the guarantee of $30,000 to each player that had previously been promised by FIFA.
“All the contractual disputes that we had were resolved,” Jane said at a news conference ahead of Sunday's opener against Sweden. “We came into New Zealand having sorted all our problems. And when we left South Africa, we assured the nation that everything has been in order. So coming into this tournament our focus has been just focusing on football.”
Earlier this month, the majority of the national team did not play a warm-up match against Botswana in protest of FIFA’s group payment of $30,000 was not included in their contracts, in addition to concerns around the condition of the stadium in which they were scheduled to play. The South African Football Association cobbled together a team of local club players, the roster for which included a 13-year-old player, and lost 5-0, The Associated Press reported.
The pay dispute ended when Patrice Motsepe, the president of the African Football Confederation and the first Black billionaire in Africa on the Forbes list, agreed to contribute $320,000 to Banyana to be equally distributed to the World Cup players.
In that same news conference announcing the donation from the Motsepe Foundation, the South African Football Players Union noted it also negotiated a deal that would financially benefit backroom and technical staff.
In the last week, after Banyana Banyana’s arrival in New Zealand, the South African Football Association released statements contradicting the players’ union previous statement regarding support staff salaries.
“We have committed to every single cent that was raised for the players including the FIFA prize monies that were put on the table,” said SAFA on July 16, 11 days after the mention of support staff. “As far as the staff is concerned, we committed to their assignment contracts to pay their daily fees as per the contract signed and daily allowances, over and above the fees.”
The decision to move past the disputes was of great importance to the players, Jane said.

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2 Sailors Die in the Stormy First Night of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, Organizers Say

Spectators at North Head watch yachts compete during the start of the annual Sydney to Hobart yacht race on Boxing Day at Sydney Harbor on December 26, 2024. (AFP)
Spectators at North Head watch yachts compete during the start of the annual Sydney to Hobart yacht race on Boxing Day at Sydney Harbor on December 26, 2024. (AFP)
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2 Sailors Die in the Stormy First Night of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, Organizers Say

Spectators at North Head watch yachts compete during the start of the annual Sydney to Hobart yacht race on Boxing Day at Sydney Harbor on December 26, 2024. (AFP)
Spectators at North Head watch yachts compete during the start of the annual Sydney to Hobart yacht race on Boxing Day at Sydney Harbor on December 26, 2024. (AFP)

Two sailors on separate boats have been killed in boom accidents two hours apart on a storm-ravaged first night of the annual Sydney to Hobart race, adding to the event's long history of deaths at sea.

The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia in Sydney, which administers the yacht race, said Friday that one sailor each on entrants Flying Fish Arctos and Bowline were killed after being struck by the boom, a large horizontal pole at the bottom of the sail.

New South Wales Police Superintendent Joe McNulty identified the two dead sailors as a 55-year-old man from Western Australia (on Flying Fish Arctos) and a 65-year-old man from South Australia (on Bowline).

He said the crews on both boats, which had been seized by police for evidence, were "doing it pretty tough at the moment."

"We’ve got police getting talking to them, doctors and counselling. They’re assisting with our inquiries. They are shaken up by what they’ve seen ... and they didn’t give up."

Officials later said a sailor was washed overboard on another boat, but was rescued. That crew member was from Hobart yacht Porco Rosso, and he drifted a kilometer from the yacht before being rescued.

The incident triggered the crew member’s emergency position-indicating radio beacon, a safety device that must be worn by all sailors in the race.

"That is one of the most terrifying experiences that you can have," said David Jacobs, vice-commodore of the CYCA. "(And) it was at night, which makes it tenfold more scary."

The deaths come 26 years after six sailors were killed in storms during the 1998 running of the race, which triggered a state coronial inquest and mass reforms to the safety protocols — including the radio beacon on all sailors — that govern the race. There have been 13 fatalities in the 79-year history of the race, with four of those deaths resulting from sailor heart attacks.

The fleet was continuing its passage to Constitution Dock in Hobart, Tasmania, with the first boats expected to arrive early Saturday morning. The race is 628 nautical miles (722 miles, 1,160 kilometers) long.

Jacobs reiterated the race would "absolutely" continue.

"The conditions are challenging, but they’re not excessive," he said. "So we’ve got sort of winds at about 25 knots coming from the north seas around about two meters or thereabouts, so the conditions that most of the sailors would normally easily handle."

"The sailing community is a very close community. There’s about a thousand sailors on the water in this race, and to lose two in this fashion is just devastating."

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese paid tribute to the sailors who died.

"We have sadly awoken to tragedy in the Sydney to Hobart with the awful news that two sailors have lost their lives," he said. "Our thoughts are with the crews, their families and loved ones at this deeply sad time."

The incident aboard Flying Fish Arctos occurred around 30 nautical miles east-southeast of Ulladulla on the New South Wales south coast. Crew members attempted CPR but could not revive their teammate.

The crew member aboard Bowline was struck approximately 30 nautical miles east/north-east of Batemans Bay and fell unconscious, with CPR also unsuccessful.

"As these incidents are being dealt with by the Water Police and all family members are yet to be contacted, we cannot provide further details at this stage," the CYCA said in a statement. "Our thoughts are with the crews, family and friends of the deceased."

The first all-Filipino crew of 15 sailors was entered in the 2024 race, but was among the retirements because of the weather. With veteran sailor Ernesto Echauz at the helm, Centennial 7 was one of six international entrants and includes sailors from the Philippines’ national team and the Philippines navy.

Last year, LawConnect won line honors after holding off defending champion Comanche by less than a minute in an exciting finish between the super maxis. LawConnect, which was runner-up in the last three editions of the race, finished in 1 day, 19 hours, 3 minutes, 58 seconds. Comanche’s time was 1 day, 19 hours, 4 minutes, 49 seconds — a margin of just 51 seconds.

Comanche, which was among the retirements in this year's race, holds the race record of 1 day, 9 hours, 15 minutes, 24 seconds, set when it won in 2017.

Nearly 26 hours into the race, 85 entrants were still sailing and 19 yachts had retired at sea or in port.

LawConnect, which led out of Sydney Harbor on Thursday, was ahead in the race but still had about 150 nautical miles before reaching Hobart. It could mean an overnight finish for the leading yachts early Saturday. Celestial V70 was in second place, about 20 nautical miles behind LawConnect.