Nomvula Kgoale basked in the glory of her success at Porirua Park on Tuesday that the chilly weather that threatened to dim her spotlight couldn’t deter her.
Banyana Banyana endeared themselves to not only the football fraternity, but to the masses after winning the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) in Morocco last year.
And one of the players that left a lasting impression was Kgoale. The 28-year-old was notable for her habit of wearing red lipstick on match-day — which led to her nickname as ‘The Lipstick Lady’.
Since those exploits, there’ve been calls for corporates to get in touch with her and make her an ambassador of some of their products.
Granted there’ve been no public declarations whether there’ve been companies that are sponsoring her with lipsticks, but she revealed that she uses a different brand for every match-day.
“Oh, yeah, absolutely. I am not sure if I am allowed to mention the brands, but yeah, come on, I am using different lipsticks (for all the matches),” Kgoale said.
Kgoale is 'The Lipstick Lady' through and through that upon hearing she'll be addressing the travelling media after Banyana's training session at Porirua Park she immediately rushed to the changeroom to apply her lipstick.
It would be the second time that Kgoale's lipstick caught the spotlight as she made an eye-catching entrance at the Wellington Regional Stadium and World Cup debut against Sweden on Sunday.
@Banyana_Banyana’s charismatic midfielder Nomvula Kgoale reflects on being the ‘The Lipstick Lady’, her grand entrance at the #FIFAWWC and being part of the @PUMASouthAfrica family! @IOLsport @IOL @SasolLeague pic.twitter.com/LrFG39DzdM
— Minto (@Mihlalibaleka) July 25, 2023
Enroute to their opening game against Sweden where they lost 2-1, Kgoale entered Wellington in some style: donning a navy-blue suit, with red lipstick, white shirt and sneakers.
Unlike her teammates, who made their presence felt at the venue by song and stunning looks, Kgoale stood out as she placed her blazer on her arm while her jewellery covered her chest in a half-unbuttoned shirt.
Kgoale thanked Banyana’s chief’s sponsor Sasol for organising the suits for the team as she felt it was important for the team to make a grand entrance at the global showpiece.
“Argh! the lipstick, of course. (But) above anything, it was Sasol’s idea to have us look that way — we want to show our feminine side. Show a little bit of some skin and make an entrance at the World Cup,” she said.
“Of course, as you've seen with Brazil and the USA, they’ve also got their own suites, so we wanted to show off some (classy) stuff that we have (as Banyana as well).”
🇿🇦💚💛#BeyondGreatness #FIFAWWC pic.twitter.com/aqtAeu0VaX
— Banyana_Banyana (@Banyana_Banyana) July 24, 2023
And while it was the application of the lipstick that made Kgoale popular, she also managed to attract the attention of sportswear Puma who decided to sponsor her prior to the World Cup.
Kgoale said she was head over heels with Puma who ensure that she got a soft-life treatment and fully expressed her feminine side whenever she went for shoots.
“Oh, I love those people. They treat me like a human being – like a girl. Let me tell you when we go and do shoots, they just hire a whole makeup crew to pamper me and I love that,” Kgoale said.
“I love the face beats, lipsticks, eyelashes – just everything about it. I love everything about it. You know what, Puma, let’s just end it there because I can just go on and on about Puma!”
Kgoale who’s glad that her style is received by the universe will want to paint Dunedin red when Banyana face Argentina in a must win match in Group G on Friday morning.
IOL Sport