Johannesburg - At age eight, Banyana Banyana star midfielder Thembi Kgatlana used to sneak off to go and play football with a group of boys in Mohlakeng, Johannesburg for an amateur side called Napoli FC.
Her parents disapproved of it.
They didn’t like the idea of having their youngest daughter out of their sight for the longest of hours. But the Banyana whiz-kid, who has now established herself as a key member of Desiree Ellis’ squad that will take on France in a friendly encounter at the Reunion Islands on Sunday evening (kick-off 7pm), cared less about how her parents thought. She just had mad love for the game. Asking her to stop playing the sport was an absolute torture for her to bear.
And so Kgatlana decided to rebel.
Her rebellion resulted in her getting a hiding from either one of her parents, each time she went against their wish of her quitting the beautiful game.
But the hiding didn’t stop Kgatlana. She just continued playing.
“Growing up at home was a bit tough,” Kgatlana recalls. “It was very, very difficult in fact, to be quite honest with you.
“I used to get beaten by either mom or dad for simply participating in the sport. But I understood why. They were extremely concerned about my safety. Napoli trained next to a highway which was a bit far from my home. I was out of sight. My parents couldn’t monitor my movements. That led to them being extremely worried due to the fact that I was the only girl playing in a boys’ team. The hiding came in a form of them trying to discourage me because they were worried that something bad might happen to me.”
But it didn’t.
Kgatlana played for the boys’ team for three years until she joined a female side which was there all along in her neighbourhood, but had no clue that it existed.
She laughs about it now, saying that her lack of not being inquisitive then, could have saved herself from the belt the time she started playing.
Not that she has any regrets though. She doesn’t.
In away; playing with boys played a massive role in her to becoming a player that she is today.
In a match against France this Sunday, Kgatlana hopes to give a splendid performance that will propel all the scouts that will be watching the match, to hand pick her to earn a move abroad.
“If it’s your time, then it’s your time,” Kgatlana says. “No one can stop it. I’ve been working on my weaknesses, especially my final touch inside the box. My parents are my biggest supporters now. Dad, who used to play back in the days but not professionally, always gets on my case if I come back home having missed one or two chances.
“He would go like,” Kgatlana adds, as she begins to mimic her father’s voice. “‘But I’ve told you (before). That’s not how you score a goal. Even a toe-poke is fine. As long as it goes into the back of the net, no one will care how you scored really. A goal is a goal.’”
“Mom would jump in and add,” Kgatlana continues as she switches characters, now imitating the voice of her mother with hand gestures and all: “‘Is this why you work extremely hard in training? Each time you come back home with a sulking face complaining that you didn’t score. You need to score man. Something has to give.’”
Kgatlana laughs at the passion both of her parents express each time after having watched play on the television screen.
She understands their high expectations from her though.
They believe that she can do better.
Against the Blues, the pacy attacking midfielder intends to do just that. Kgatlana hopes to be more clinical in front of goal. Playing well against France, Kgatlana believes, will play a massive role in seeing her reach her ultimate goal.
She wants to earn a move abroad.
“It doesn’t matter whether it’s Europe or the United States,” Kgatlana says. “I’ll play anywhere in the world just as long as it’s in a professional league. I promised my parents that I would pass my matric a few years ago, though I was in camp with Banyana for three months. I did that. I’m not too sure if I would keep my promise of completing BA in Tourism Management in the country, should an opportunity to move abroad arise while I’m there (in France). I can always finish it either once I’m done playing professionally; or probably in whichever country I would be based in.
“They would have to forgive me on that one.”