from africa... to the world

UWC alumni join top European clubs

By Myolisi Gophe ImagesCourtesy of gettyimages/FIFA.com, Supplied

From UWC to the United States, China and now Portugal, UWC alumna and 2018 African Women’s Footballer of the Year Thembi Kgatlana’s career has been on an upward trajectory.

After signing her first professional contract with Houston Dash in the United States, the two-time UWC Sportswoman of the Year signed for Portugal’s Benfica until the end of the season following a one-year stint at Beijing BG Phoenix in China.

Kgatlana has joined a growing number of South African female footballers — many from UWC — who have moved to top clubs in Europe in recent times.

In the same month of Kgatlana’s signing, her former UWC teammate Kelso Peskin also signed her professional contract with

Toulouse FC Féminines. Peskin, who was previously on the books of Tyler College and Lamar University in the United States, returned to South Africa in late 2018 where she spent a season at a local Sasol League club, Vasco Da Gama, before heading to France.

In February, another UWC football star and Banyana Banyana veteran, Jermaine Seoposenwe, also changed clubs when she moved to Real Betis in Spain. This followed her brief but successful spell at Lithuanian champions Gintra Universitetas, which was also home to Leandra Smeda, another UWC alumna, before she crossed Europe to join Swedish club Vittsjö GIK. Seoposenwe, on the other hand, had studied and played for Stanford University in the US after leaving UWC in 2013.

With Benfica leading the top-level women’s football league in Portugal, the team is in good stead to participate in the UEFA Women’s Champions League. “These are all the moments we dream about when we grow up. Pleased to announce that I will be joining SL Benfica Feminino,” Kgatlana told her Twitter followers after putting pen to paper at Benfica. Although she has yet to make a public statement about the details of her deal, the Banyana Banyana star was quoted as being over the moon about the move, according to Benfica’s official site. “I am very excited to sign for Benfica. I thank the team, the President and everyone for giving me the opportunity to come to Portugal and Benfica. Benfica is a great club in Portugal, and in the world. I have already had the opportunity to see history and records, and it is a great honour for me to be part of such a great club.”

UWC Sport Director, Mandla Gagayi, congratulated the players on their moves and said the University is proud to be an active contributor to the women’s national football agenda. “Women’s football is one of our strategic assets and it is no mistake that we keep producing players of great quality.

“What also makes us proud is the fact that all our current and former national players still regard UWC as their home and, whenever they are around Cape Town, they make sure to visit UWC because they believe that it is where their roots are. The thing I love most about all these players is that they are not just footballers; they also play a huge role towards upliftment of their communities — and that is what UWC is about.”

Above: Kelso Peskin now plays for Toulouse FC Féminines. This image: Jermaine Seoposenwe moved to Real Betis in February.

Thembii Kgatlana moved to Europe this year.