Ghana protest against females in Afcon stadiums

Cape Town - The ANC Women’s League (ANCWL) says it is shocked and appalled at reports that some of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) teams gearing up to play in the upcoming continental tournament feel women in stadiums are bad luck.

“It is a travesty that in a country such as South Africa the whims of these teams would be considered by our local organisers,” the ANCWL said via a statement released to the media on Thursday.

If reports in thesportsinghana website are to be believed women will not be allowed to occupy the lower level of the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium where the players’ change rooms are located.

This comes after Ghana, DR Congo, Mali and Niger apparently raised objections. “We were told that in north Africa, women bring bad luck to teams and also that they are associated with witchcraft," one of AFCON’s local woman organisers told the Daily Sun.

The ANCWL says the claims are nothing short of "absurd".

“South African women are ardent soccer supporters and it is insulting to have them discriminated in this manner based on the nonsensical belief that women bring bad luck.

“The ANCWL is confident that this discrimination against women will not see the light of day and AFCON will rectify this with immediate effect. Never in the history of sports events hosted in South Africa has the ANCWL ever heard of such absurdity.

“We call on all women sports fans to refuse this kind of treatment and demand the equal rights enshrined in our constitution.”

Bafana Bafana kick-off the tournament when they face the Cape Verde Islands at the National Stadium on Saturday.