IT’S ALL GOING ACCORDING TO PLAN

BY JOSHUA HENDRICKS

UWC FULLBACK FIKILE MAGAMA regards joining the University of the Western Cape as one of the best decisions she has ever made as it has played a major role in her development on and off the field. She says playing football kept her focused while growing up, especially when her family was going through problems.

“I started playing football when I was seven, mostly playing with boys at home. My grandmother then decided to take me to Cape Town Roses. I remained there until 2017 but then I moved to Dangerous Heroes in Philippi. In 2018, I started playing for the national under-17 team. When I got matric I had to come to UWC to study.”

BY 2019, she had started playing for UWC. Describing the assistance she received from the university, Magama says, “I didn’t do well with my matric results so they helped me better my results. I wouldn’t still be here at UWC if it wasn’t for this institution. All I can say is they have helped me in more ways than one.”

I started playing football when I was seven, mostly playing with boys at home.

IN 2021, she received a call-up to join Basetsana, the national under-20 women’s football team. She says: “It was easy for me to play with other players within the national team structure. At UWC the standard is of a high intensity. They even challenged me to play at left-back because I started as a right-back and I could not kick with my left foot. It was difficult in the beginning but UWC helped me to adapt.”

She says it was a very nervous beginning but having had the experience of participating in an under-17 camp, there were familiar faces at the camp which made it easier to be herself and just play the game.

“Being in a new environment, with new coaches and a new style of play, I had a lot to learn and a lot to adjust to. It wasn’t easy,” says Magama. But the player nicknamed Kanté by her U teammates (after N’Golo Kanté, her male No. 7 counterpart at Chelsea) was determined to make her mark and did well.

ELMIEN CLOETE, the women’s football administrator at UWC, says she was “elated” at the inclusion of Magama in the Basetsana team late last year. Cloete says UWC took on the challenge of developing female footballers of the future and sees the university as a breeding ground for well-rounded individuals whose main focus was not just football but also maintaining a great level of academic achievement.

“We are extremely proud and it tells us about the depth in the team as far as our youngsters are concerned. It’s proved to us that what we are doing at UWC Football to support the young players of this country is working. We are almost becoming a recruitment ground for the national teams.

“For UWC, of course, it raises the image and we are proud to contribute to that. We want to become the hub for women’s football and specifically junior football in this country. I think we are on track with that with the way we look after our young girls, especially with the academic support, as well as the sport imperative. We can proudly say that we are on our way to enriching those goals.”

AS FOR KANTÉ, she says proudly: “I’m about to do a Bachelor of Arts at UWC. Last year, I did a bridging course, so the assistance has been good.”