Strike a Rock

ZAAHIER ADAMS

Thembi Kgatlana - From Banyana Banyana to Atletico Madrid

PLAYING for Spanish club Atletico Madrid was not the fulfilment of a lifelong dream for Thembi Kgatlana. As a little girl growing up in Mohlakeng, she in fact never even harboured thoughts of being a professional footballer.

And if her mother had a way, Kgatlana would have been an athlete – just like her mom was.

But today Kgatlana is the poster-girl of South African women’s football and an inspiration and role model for many young girls in Mzansi.

“It was tough because I didn’t grow up with these opportunities in front of me,” said the pint-sized forward.

“It was quite difficult for me at the start, but I realised when Portia Modise went to Europe ... when she went to Denmark … I think that was the glimpse of light that I needed to know that I can make a career out of football. “Now at home they are looking at me and wanting to be me. They follow me on the road when I go back home, especially all the small kids. It is something that doesn’t only inspire me, but inspires the next girl that wishes to play in Europe.

Through me it is possible for them to see that they are able to go play wherever they want. They can follow their dreams if they put in the effort and be consistent with what they are doing.”

Kgatlana has certainly not had an easy road to the Spanish capital. It has been a long and arduous journey that has seen her circumnavigate the globe, from USA via China and Portugal to the Basque country’s city of Eibar, before arriving in the bright lights of Madrid.

These globe-trotting travels have given her insight into how women’s professional leagues around the world are run, and the support it receives from either their respective national governments, sport federations and corporate sector.

Thembi Kgatlana’s book titled Strike a Rock : The Story of Thembi Kgatlana by Nikolaos Kirkinis