(Reuters) – South Africa Rugby announced plans on Friday to launch a women’s professional league with up to 150 players as early as next year, saying it wanted to match “amazing strides” in the women’s game around the world.
The sport’s governing body said in a statement provincial rugby unions have been invited to submit proposals for three-year franchises in the new Women’s Super League Rugby (WSLR), offering them budgetary support such as travel costs.
“The women’s game is making amazing strides across the world and in South Africa,” SA Rugby President Mark Alexander said.
“We want to match that growth by providing an appropriate aspirational, high-performance platform for South African women,” he said, adding that it had been a priority of the body for several years.
Most teams in South Africa’s top-flight Women’s Premier Division do not have players on professional contracts.
Bulls Daisies became the first women’s professional rugby team in South Africa last year, with a roster of 35 contracted players.
SA Rugby CEO Rian Oberholzer said it was looking forward to confirming the franchises in October.
“It will be a key moment in the strategy to bring the Women’s Rugby World Cup back to South Africa,” he said.
(Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru; Editing by Helen Popper)
