A standoff between South Africa's Women's World Cup squad and the national soccer association over pay and other issues forced officials to field a makeshift team of little-known players that included a 13-year-old for a game against Botswana on Sunday.
The game was supposed to be the final warm-up match for the African women's champion on home soil before it headed off to the Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, but it turned into an embarrassment on and off the field as the entire World Cup squad sat out the game.
South Africa's team of replacement players — hastily pulled together from local clubs — lost 5-0 to Botswana at the Tsakane Stadium near Johannesburg.
They were 4-0 down at half-time in a game that was delayed for an hour at the request of the South African Football Association (SAFA) so it could scramble and put together a team.