World Cup: South Africa's Kgatlana expects improvement

It took a while to get to the top, but Thembi Kgatlana is convinced the South African women's national team are right where they deserve to be.

The 2022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations champions are set to take part in their second Women's World Cup — which kicks off this July in Australia and New Zealand — following their maiden appearance in France in 2019, where they lost all three group games.

"As a team, we want to do well. We're not in the group of death like we were in 2019," Kgatlana, 26, tells DW.

The Banyana Banyana will play in Group G against Sweden, Italy and Argentina, different kinds of opponents to their last group, where they faced two-time winners Germany, 1999 runners-up China and emerging force Spain. Kgatlana, who has 22 goals in 63 caps for South Africa, likes her side's chances of reaching the knockout stages for the first time.

"That would obviously depend on how well we prepare for the World Cup, as individuals and as a team. If the federation prepares us well, we stand a chance," she says.

"Most importantly, it is about going out onto the field and enjoying yourself and expressing yourself."

The queens of Africa 

South Africa played in the shadows of their toughest opponents, Nigeria, for a long time, but after finally ending the Super Falcons' WAFCON dominance, the Banyana Banyana are the team to beat in Africa.

"Over the years, Nigeria had more players playing abroad, but we didn't have that. They always had the edge over us because their girls played in professional leagues. They competed every day, week in and week out," Kgatlana said. "But as soon as we could push out 10 South African players to also be on the same level as Nigeria, it helped us."

South Africa defeated Nigeria in their opening game at the 2022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations in what was a rematch of the 2018 final. Hosts Morocco eliminated Nigera — who have won 11 of 14 WAFCON titles — in the semifinals to deny the South Africans another crack at the Super Falcons. But the Banyana Banyana took care of business nonetheless, winning 2-0 to lift their first ever WAFCON title.

"It brought joy to South Africans after years of trying to win it as the girls were able to bring the Cup back home," she said.

Foreign-based stars Jermaine Seoposenwe, Linda Mothlalo and Hildah Magaia all pitched in goals to lead them to the silverware. After Kgatlana left injured in the last group-stage game, she took on the role of team cheerleader as they marched to the title and received a state welcome in Pretoria, South Africa's administrative capital.

Equal pay

The WAFCON victory was followed by another major development when the South African Football Association announced the introduction of equal pay, matching women's national team salaries with the men's, the Bafana Bafana who last won a continental title in 1996. It was the first pay equity decisions taken by a major African football country — Sierra Leone and Zambia are the only others on the continent who pay men's and women's national team players the same.

"It is great that the federation finally made that call to pay us the same. It will go a long way in helping women's footballers," she says.

"Even though we have made great strides, we still don't have a professional league in the country. So for many players in the local league, it is a good financial boost for them because it can help them focus better on football."

Despite its semi-professional status, South African women's football continues to be one of the best organized in the continent, including a women's university football league.

Tougher competition in the NWSL

Kgatlana, who was named African Player of the Year in 2018, began her career as a member of the University of the Western Cape (UWC) football team before moving to the US for her first professional experience at the Houston Dash in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL).

After further stints in China, Portugal and Spain — with Atletico Madrid —  the striker has returned to the NWSL to reestablish herself with Racing Louisville.

Despite the increasing growth of the women's game in Europe and the great attention it is receiving from major sports broadcasters, Kgatlana feels the US offers better competition due to the equality of the teams across the league.

"For me, the NWSL is the best league in the world in terms of competition, and every team is strong. The competition is very tight, and you don't have easy games where teams can easily win by large margins," the striker says.

Kgatlana ended her three-year contract with Atletico Madrid midway through to return to the US. "When Louisville came calling, I knew it was the best decision I could make for my career," she says.

The Banyana Banyana star now aims to be fit for the new NWSL season so she can make South Africa's squad for this year's World Cup.

Edited by: Davis Van Opdorp