The competition will be made up of four teams from North and South America, two from Africa, six from Europe and the remaining four from Asia/Oceania.
“With Nigeria and Ghana currently topping the African rankings, it means Banyana Banyana have to go all out and beat these two to be among the elite in the world. Our girls must be among the 16 teams in this elite league,” said SAFA president Danny Jordaan.
Jordaan, who attended a FIFA summit in Muscat, Oman last week where discussions were held on the proposed tournament, feels it is crucial South Africa sets up a national women's league next year.
“We also need a technical capacity that is equal to the best in the world and this falls within our broader Vision 2022 blueprint,” he said.
Jordaan pointed out there is now extra incentive for Banyana, who are ranked fifth on the continent, to qualify regularly for the Women's African Nations Cup, starting with Ghana 2018. They will also need book a spot at the 2019 Women's World Cup to improve their ranking.
“All in all, what all these changes mean is that our teams have to up their game to keep up with the growing pace in this competitive world. We need to be among the best in the world and that means upping our game.”
The next Women's World Cup will run from June 7 to July 7, 2019 in France and will involve 24 countries.