“We see you”: Banyana Banyana star paving the way for future generations through Thembi Kgatlana Foundation

It is a message of promise to the future generation, guided by Thembi’s lived experiences. Long before the global stage, individual honours, and international moves, the 29-year-old understood what it was like to grow up in a society where women’s football was unheard of. Where opportunities were limited, invisible even.

Today, her foundation is working to change that and capitalise on the growing movement of women’s sport. Through movements like ‘Buy a Girl a Pad’, the foundation is tackling one of the most overlooked barriers in girls’ education and sporting careers. By providing access to sanitary products, it means no girl should have to choose between her education, her health, and her love for the game.

“Girls miss school because they get their periods, and that affects their performances in school. If they play sports, they miss going to school and going to play football. ” Finding her love for football Embed from Getty Images Thembi’s journey into football was like many others.

She grew up in Mohlakeng, a township just west of Johannesburg, where football was not known to be a women’s sport. At eight-years-old, she began playing for fun with nothing more than a ball and her group of friends. She admits that most children play football rather than rugby or golf because it’s cheaper for parents to purchase football equipment.