South Africa's women's team, known as "Banyana Banyana", reached the last 16 at the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand earlier this month -- the first time either the men's or women's team had achieved the feat. In a 2022 investigation into the bonus structure for Banyana Banyana, South Africa's Commision for Gender Equity found that "players are not remunerated on the same scale (as) ... their male counterparts". For instance, South Africa's women's players received only a 55,000 rand ($2,885) bonus for reaching the final of the Women's Africa Cup of Nations, which they went on to win. "We're coming from very disadvantaged homes, we become breadwinners," Portia Modise, former Banyana Banyana captain, told Reuters after playing a friendly in the township of Soweto. That figure compared with $440 million for the men's tournament in Qatar.

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Persons: Dhlamini, Carl Recine, SAFA, Portia Modise, Linda Zwane, Thando, Tannur Anders, Tim Cocks, Toby Davis Organizations: Soccer Football, FIFA, Sydney Football Stadium, REUTERS, Rights, Africa's, South African Football Association, Gender Equity, Africa, of Nations, Reuters, Thomson Locations: New Zealand, Netherlands, South Africa, Sydney, Australia, Rights JOHANNESBURG, Qatar, Soweto