WISA | WOMEN IN SPORTS AFRICA
FEATURE
ISSUE 02 | 1 SEPTEMBER 2026
PORTIA
LONWABO
& PORTIA
The Gut Health Nobody
Talks About:
The Contract Nobody Read:
LONWABO & PORTIA
COLLECTOR’S
POSTERS
COVER STARS
EXCLUSIVE PROFILES
Breaking Records,
Setting Standards &
Owning the Game
From the Sidelines to the
Spotlight—Leading the
Next Wave
10 Fast Facts You
Didn’t Know
LONWABO
HEALTH &
PERFORMANCE:
INVESTIGATIVE / BUSINESS:
The Fine Print Sidelining Female Athletes
The Hidden Anchor of Peak Recovery
gsport Champion:
Lucilla Booyzen:
Simone Kruger on
Record-Breaking
Resilience
The Style of Sport
& High-Fashion
Influence
THE WOMEN
GIVING SPORT
A VOICE
ADVERTISEMENT
TSHEPO JEANS
SPONSORED
WISA | WOMEN IN SPORTS AFRICA
ISSUE 02
05
13
22
24
31
37
46
THE DUAL COVERS:
LONWABO & PORTIA Two
powerhouse athletes taking
up space, commanding the
microphone, and reshaping
sports culture .
GSPORT AWARDS:
SIMONE KRUGER Paralympic
excellence, world records,
and unmatched mental
resilience.
THE CONTRACT NOBODY READ
The clauses, rights, and fine print
sidelining female athletes in
professional sport.
THE INSURANCE NOBODY TALKS ABOUT
Protecting your body, wealth, and long-term athletic career.
THE GUT HEALTH NOBODY TALKS ABOUT
The direct, overlooked connection between gut microbiome
and peak athletic output.
THE HOLY TRINITY:
D3, MAGNESIUM & ZINC The essential micronutrient stack to
stop female athlete burnout.
LUCILLA BOOYZEN: THE STYLE OF SPORT
High fashion meets athletic prowess in this exclusive cultural
spotlight.
EDITORIAL TEAM
Publisher and Creative Director
Sine Vulindlu
Managing Editor
Lihua Muntu Bongo
Writer
Mamello Monyake
DESIGN
Art Director and Designer
Keba Sejosengwe
CONTACT US
Editorial Enquiries
info@knlcomms.co.za
mamello@knlcomms.co.za
Advertising and Partnerships
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THE WOMEN GIVING SPORT A VOICE
WISA | WOMEN IN SPORTS AFRICA
FEATURE
Welcome to Issue 02 of WISA Magazine.
Thank you for being part of this movement.
Dive in, get inspired, and let your voice be heard.
— The WISA Magazine Team
Our theme this issue, The Women Giving Sport a Voice, is about ownership.
For too long, the stories of female athletes were shaped by rooms they
weren’t invited into. That script has flipped.
From cover stars Portia and Lonwabo to pioneers like coach Zanele
Mdodana, Simone Kruger, Dumisani Chauke, and Khanyisa Chawane,
these pages celebrate women taking up space on the field, behind the
scenes, and across the industry.
Beyond the game, we unpack the contracts nobody reads, break down the
science of female recovery and gut health, and explore style with fashion
icon Lucilla Booyzen.
This issue is a reminder that your ambition belongs here, your health is
non-negotiable, and your voice carries weight.
WISA | WOMEN IN SPORTS AFRICA
LEADING STORIES
By Mamello Monyake
From the East Rand to some of the biggest sporting stages in the country, Lonwabo Miso has built a
career on preparation, perseverance and an unwavering belief that women’s sport deserves to be heard.
or someone whose career has
been built around finding the
right words, Lonwabo Miso was
almost lost for them on the
night she made gsport history.
On 8 August 2026, at the 21st gsport
Awards, Miso walked away with
both the SABC Sport Woman in
Radio and SABC Sport Woman in TV
awards, becoming the first person in
gsport history to win both broadcast
categories at the same ceremony.
For the woman behind the
microphone, however, the moment
was about far more than two
trophies. It was a pause in a career
defined by long hours, missed family
moments, sleepless nights and the
relentless demand to prove herself
in a space where women are still
too often questioned before they are
heard.
Miso’s story begins in Kwa-Thema,
Springs…where she grew up
surrounded by strong women who
taught her early that circumstances
do not have to dictate destiny.
Her mother, grandmothers and
cousins were hardworking women,
constantly finding ways to make
things happen with the opportunities
available to them. Their example
shaped Miso’s understanding of
resilience long before she understood
what it would mean for her own
career.
“They taught me that intombazana
will get up and make things happen
for herself, whatever the hurdles and
whatever the circumstances,” she
says.
Sport was part of that upbringing.
A VOICE
THE WOMAN GIVING SPORT
WISA | WOMEN IN SPORTS AFRICA
LEADING STORIES
Miso played cricket, netball and ran
cross-country, while football and
major sporting events were staples in
the family home. The Olympics could
occupy the television for an entire
day.
Yet broadcasting was not initially part
of the plan.
Miso had her sights set on the built
environment, considering careers in
Civil Engineering and Architecture.
It was only after completing a short
course in Architectural Draughting
that she auditioned as a news
anchor at Voice of Wits. That audition
changed the trajectory of her life.
Campus radio led to an internship
at Jacaranda FM and eventually to
Radio 2000, where she developed
into a trusted sports broadcaster.
Her radio journey has now stretched
across more than a decade, but
Miso refuses to view experience as
permission to become comfortable.
Her philosophy is simple: keep
improving.
Television, meanwhile demanded an
entirely different kind of patience.
Despite already working in radio at
the SABC, it took Miso 10 years to
make the move to television. The
breakthrough came at the 2023
Netball World Cup in Cape Town,
where her work eventually opened
the door to SABC Sport television. She
started with Journos Vodcast before
progressing to major assignments,
including Bafana Bafana, PSL
matches, AFCON, the FIFA World Cup
and WAFCON.
Today, she is one of the recognisable
voices across SABC Sport’s radio and
television platforms, anchoring some
of the biggest sporting moments in
South Africa and on the continent.
But finding her voice did not mean
the industry always made space for
it.
Miso says the challenges became
more apparent when she moved
from current affairs -a space where
women were more visible into sports
media.
“You enter a room and, without
anyone saying anything, you can feel
that people are questioning why you
are there,” she recalls.
She chose not to let that question
define her.
Instead, she looked to women who
had already walked through those
doors: Kass Naidoo, Lebo Motsoeli,
Romy Titus and Carol Tshabalala.
Among them, Naidoo has had
perhaps the greatest influence,
encouraging Miso during a difficult
period at the SABC to keep working,
keep smiling and trust that the work
would eventually speak for itself.
It has.
But for Miso, using her voice is not
only about establishing herself. It is
about opening the conversation for
other women.
She deliberately incorporates
women’s sport into her radio bulletins,
whether the story is about Banyana
Banyana, the Proteas Women, the
Springbok Women or an individual
athlete. She understands that every
mention can create traction and
that traction can lead to audiences,
supporters and sponsorship.
She believes the progress is visible.
Women’s sport is receiving more
coverage, and increasingly, those
stories are being told because
audiences recognise their value
rather than out of obligation.
But Miso wants consistency.
She wants Banyana Banyana players
to be covered when they are playing
at home, not only when they arrive at
a major tournament. She wants more
women journalists in press rooms.
And she wants newsrooms to reach
a point where the absence of women
covering sport feels uncomfortable.
Her message to young women
entering the industry is equally direct:
prepare.
“Confidence comes from preparation,”
she says. “Don’t take research lightly.”
For Miso, confidence is not simply
about commanding a room. It comes
from knowing that when the lights
come on, she has done the work.
That philosophy has carried her
from Kwa-Thema to the biggest
sporting stages, from radio studios
to television screens, and now to a
historic gsport double.
Yet success, she says, is not simply
about awards.
It is about executing every
assignment to the best of her
ability. It is about growing with every
production. It is about working hard
enough that doors continue to open
in spaces where Black women were
once rarely seen as deserving of a
seat.
And perhaps most importantly, it is
about the young people watching.
Miso hopes the next generation –
particularly young Black girls, will find
the road a little easier than it was for
her. She wants them to be questioned
because they need to prove their
competence, not because they are
women.
Her ambitions are now stretching
beyond South Africa, with
international broadcasting firmly on
her radar. But true to the lesson that
has shaped her career, she is not
forcing the moment.
When the time is right, she believes,
the doors will open.
After all, the woman who once waited
a decade for television has learnt
something powerful about timing:
sometimes the dream takes longer
because you are still becoming the
person who can carry it.
And when it finally arrives, you are
ready.
WISA | WOMEN IN SPORTS AFRICA
LEADING STORIES
Fun Facts about
Lonwabo Miso
1. I went from Architectural Draughting to broadcasting.
I initially studied Architectural Draughting, but one audition at
Wits Campus Radio completely changed the direction of my
career. Safe to say, I went from drawing buildings to building a
career behind the microphone.
2. I don’t support any PSL team.
People genuinely struggle to believe this — understandably so.
But despite working in football every day, I don’t support any
team in the PSL. I’m proudly neutral… or at least I try to be!
3. My big TV break came after 10 years on radio.
I spent a full decade building my career in radio before
getting my big break on television. So, yes, I’m a firm believer
that your timeline doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s.
4. I don’t like pizza, raisins or anything with cinnamon.
Three things I will happily live without. Pizza lovers, raisin enthusiasts
and cinnamon fans, please don’t take it personally.
5. I’m an East Rand girl through and through.
I’m from Kwa-Thema, Springs, and no matter how far my career
takes me, being an East Rand girl will always be part of who I am.
6. My job can have me in several provinces in one weekend.
The nature of my work means I can sometimes find myself
travelling across South Africa, covering different sporting events in
completely different provinces, all within the same weekend.
7. 🌶️
My radio nickname is Mam’Pele Pele… sometimes Chillie Bite!
Radio 2000 listeners have clearly decided that my name needs a little
seasoning. So depending on the day, I’m Mam’Pele Pele or Chillie Bite.
8. 🎙️ Radio 2000 is the only radio station I’ve ever worked for.
Since arriving at Radio Park in 2014, Radio 2000 has been my radio home. I’ve grown, evolved and
taken on different roles, but I’ve never worked for another radio station.
9. I travel a lot for work and KZN is my favourite province.
My job has taken me all over South Africa, and while I love discovering different parts of the
country, KwaZulu-Natal has a very special place on my list of favourites.
10. My first Pitchside assignment was a Bafana Bafana game.
To this day, I sometimes wonder how management trusted me with such a massive assignment for
my very first game! But clearly, they saw something in me that I had to prove to myself.
WISA | WOMEN IN SPORTS AFRICA
LEADING STORIES
A LEGACY WORTH CELEBRATING
Portia Modise enters the gsport Hall of Fame
By Mamello Monyake
here are some football careers
that are measured in goals,
caps and trophies. Then there
are the ones that change the
way a generation sees the game.
Portia Modise belongs in the second
category.
When her name was added to the
gsport Hall of Fame at the 21st gsport
Awards, it was more than another
accolade for one of South Africa’s
most celebrated footballers. It was
a moment to look back at a career
that helped give women’s football a
face, a voice and at times, a much-
needed challenge.
Before the packed stadiums, the
professional structures and the
growing visibility around Banyana
Banyana, there was a young Modise
in Soweto, playing football in the
streets with boys. She started playing
at seven and progressed through the
ranks quickly, captaining Basetsana
as a teenager before making her
Banyana Banyana debut in 2000.
That early start mattered. Modise was
not entering a polished professional
system. She was growing her game
in an environment where women’s
football was still fighting to be taken
seriously. The streets became her first
classroom, and playing alongside
boys helped sharpen the competitive
edge that would become one of her
trademarks.
Then came the goals.
Modise built a reputation as a striker
who wanted the ball and knew what
to do with it. She became a regular
name in the national team, earned
recognition beyond South Africa
and played abroad with Fortuna
Hjørring in Denmark. In 2005 she was
nominated for the FIFA Women’s
World Player of the Year award, while
her performances at the 2006 African
Women’s Championship earned
her the Player of the Championship
honour.
But if there is one number that
has become inseparable from her
name, it is 100.
In 2014, Modise became the first
African player to reach the 100-
goal mark in international football.
The achievement was extraordinary
on its own, but the road to it made
the number mean even more.
She had come through an
era when opportunities for
women footballers were
limited and when being a
woman in football often
meant fighting to have your
talent recognised before you
could even think about records.
Her career was not without
difficult chapters.
Modise was never
afraid to speak
about what she
believed was
wrong in the
women’s
game,
including the
treatment of
players and
the lack of
investment
in women’s
football. At times,
that willingness to speak up
came with consequences.
But it also became part of what
made her influence bigger than
what she did with a ball at her feet.
She understood early that football
was not only about what happened
between the white lines. It was also
about who got opportunities, who
was listened to and what kind of
future was being built for the girls
coming behind her.
That perspective has remained a
consistent thread in Modise’s life
after football. She has spoken about
wanting to mentor young girls,
develop grassroots football and
create opportunities that would allow
the next generation to dream bigger.
Her foundation work has centred on
helping aspiring female footballers
with coaching, education and skills
development.
And perhaps that is why this
Hall of Fame moment feels
particularly fitting.
The gsport Hall of Fame is
not simply a room filled with
names from the past. It is
a record of women whose
careers helped move South
African sport forward.
Modise’s place among
them is a reminder that
the progress we see
in women’s football
today did not begin
with the current
generation. It was
built by players who
had to keep pushing
when the pathway
ahead was far
less certain.
Today’s
Banyana
Banyana
players
walk into a
different football
landscape. The
national team has
won the Women’s
Africa Cup of
Nations, played
at multiple FIFA
Women’s World Cups
and inspired a new
wave of girls to see
football as a possible
career. The game is
WISA | WOMEN IN SPORTS AFRICA
LEADING STORIES
still evolving, but the visibility is
undeniable.
Modise was part of the generation
that helped make that visibility
possible.
Her legacy can be seen in more than
the record books. It lives in the young
player who knows that a girl from
Soweto can become a national-
team star. It lives in the footballer who
understands that speaking up can be
part of changing a sport. And it lives
in the next generation that now has
permission to dream beyond simply
making the team.
For Modise, the greatest measure
of success may therefore not be
whether someone eventually breaks
her scoring record. In fact, she has
previously spoken about wanting
the players who come after her
to break her records and use her
achievements as inspiration.
That is the thing about a real legacy:
it does not ask to remain untouched.
It creates a path for someone else to
go further.
Portia Modise has already left her
mark on South African football.
The goals made sure of that. The
records made sure of that. But the
Hall of Fame induction gives us
an opportunity to look beyond the
numbers and recognise the woman
behind them-a player who arrived
early, stood her ground, scored
her goals and refused to let the
limitations of her era define what was
possible.
Now, her name sits among the
women who have shaped South
African sport.
And somewhere, another young
girl is watching football at her feet,
wondering how far she can go.
WISA | WOMEN IN SPORTS AFRICA
10
LEADING STORIES
1. Her nickname is “Bashin.”She was affectionately known as
Bashin, a nickname linked to former South African footballer
Albert “Bashin” Mahlangu apparently fitting for someone with
a serious eye for goal.
2. Boys used to literally come looking for her to play.
3. She was apparently that kid who always
wanted the ball. Former Banyana captain
Desiree Ellis recalled seeing a teenage Portia
playing and said she always wanted to be
involved and always wanted the ball, even
when heavily marked, because she believed
she could beat whoever was in front of her.
4. She was one of the earliest African women
footballers to make the move to Europe. Her
time at Fortuna Hjørring in Denmark from
2007–2009 came at a time when very few
African women footballers were playing
professionally in Europe. Her move helped
open the door for later generations of South
African players.
5. She once worked as an academy coach at
Orlando Pirates. After her playing career began
developing, Portia wasn’t only thinking about
playing…she also got into coaching and worked
with the Orlando Pirates academy in 2005–06.
6. She has a very strong “I said what I said”
personality. Portia became known for speaking
openly about problems within women’s football,
even when that made her unpopular with football
administrators. She has said she was labelled a
“problem child” because she challenged unfair
treatment.
7. She didn’t want to hide who she was to make
football easier. Portia has spoken openly about
being one of the first openly gay players in the
global game and recalled being told that queer
players should pretend to have boyfriends. Her
response was essentially: Why should I lie?
8. She has a book called From Portia Modise With
Love. It’s not just a conventional autobiography…her
foundation describes it as an interactive multimedia
book, combining her story with video and other
content.
9. That 2007 award trophy stayed at her mother’s
house for 19 YEARS.
10. She has openly talked about wanting to change
what comes after her. Her foundation isn’t simply
about preserving her own legacy. She has used her
story and platform to support young people and
women’s football, particularly around inequality and
creating opportunities for the next generation.
Fun Facts about
Portia Modise
WISA | WOMEN IN SPORTS AFRICA
11
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awards
WISA | WOMEN IN SPORTS AFRICA
12
GSPORT AWARDS 2026
Celebrated Women in Sports
here are nights in sport that
are remembered for the
results. Then there are nights
that remind us why the journey
matters.
The 2026 GSPORT Awards was both.
Returning for its 21st edition, the
annual celebration brought together
athletes, coaches, broadcasters,
journalists, administrators, sponsors,
supporters and the many women
working behind the scenes to move
South African sport forward. More
than a red-carpet occasion, it was a
moment to pause, look around and
recognise just how far women’s sport
has come and how much further it
can still go.
Since its launch in 2006, gsport has
made visibility its mission: telling
the stories of women in sport and
creating opportunities for their
achievements to be seen, celebrated
and supported. Twenty years on, that
mission has grown into a movement.
The 2026 Awards reflected that
growth, with nearly 475 public
nominations feeding into the process
across 20 categories.
And perhaps that is what makes the
Awards so special. The spotlight is not
reserved only for the athlete standing
on the podium.
It also shines on the coach who
stays late, the journalist who keeps
asking the important questions, the
broadcaster who gives women’s sport
a voice, the administrator opening
doors, the sponsor putting money
behind opportunity and the supporter
showing up when nobody is watching.
That wider recognition matters.
For years, women in sport have
had to fight for visibility alongside
the competition itself. The gsport
Awards create a space where those
contributions are not treated as
an afterthought. They are the main
event.
This year’s celebration also offered
powerful reminders of both the
present and the past.
The recognition of leading performers
showcased the extraordinary level of
excellence currently emerging from
South African women’s sport, while
the Hall of Fame continued to honour
the pioneers whose careers helped
make today’s opportunities possible.
Among the women celebrated on the
night was Lonwabo Miso, whose work
across radio and television reflects
the growing space being created
for women to shape the sports
conversation themselves.
Her recognition was especially
meaningful for WISA, given her
connection to WISA TV and her role
in helping bring women’s sporting
stories to audiences beyond the field
of play.
But perhaps the most powerful part
of the evening was what happened
beyond the trophies.
Young women could look around the
room and see possibilities.
They could see athletes becoming
icons, broadcasters becoming
household voices, journalists building
careers and leaders changing
institutions. They could see that there
is more than one way to belong in
sport.
And that is why nights like this matter.
The gsport Awards do not simply
celebrate where women’s sport is
today. They help us imagine where it
could be tomorrow.
As the lights dimmed and another
Awards evening came to an end,
the message was clear: recognition
can honour a journey, but it can also
spark a new one.
Next year, there will be another room,
another group of nominees and
hopefully, even more stories worth
celebrating!
And we will be watching.
A Night That
WISA | WOMEN IN SPORTS AFRICA
13
GSPORT AWARDS 2026
The gsport Champion
Who Refused to Be Defined by “Normal”
For most 20-year-olds, a world record is a distant fantasy, however, for Simoné Kruger, it has become
something closer to a habit. The Paralympic discus and shot-put athlete has broken world records
repeatedly since her early teens, and this August, that dominance was formally recognised on one of
South African sport’s biggest stages.
Crowned at the 21st Gsport Awards
On 8 August 2026, at the 21st Gsport
Awards held at the Wanderers Club
in Illovo, Johannesburg, Kruger was
named Para Sport Star of the Year,
adding another major title to an
already extraordinary trophy cabinet.
The award recognised her season
defending her F38 discus world title in
New Delhi, where she threw a season's
best of 37.39m. She was shortlisted
alongside swimming sensation Alani
Ferreira and sprinter Liezl Gouws, both
of whom had rewritten record books
at South Africa's April 2026 National
Championships, but it was Kruger's
continued dominance in her discipline
that took the honour.
The win continues a pattern for
Kruger at the Gsport Awards. She was
previously named Most Promising
Athlete at the Gauteng Sport Awards
in 2021 and was shortlisted in the
Para Sport Star category at both the
#GSPORT20 Awards in 2025 and
now the 21st edition in 2026, this time
claiming the title outright.
Born Into a Fight She Didn't
Choose
Kruger was born on 14 January 2005
in Pretoria after suffering a stroke in
the womb, leaving her with cerebral
palsy and impaired use of the right
side of her body. As a baby, she
needed intensive therapy and electric
stimulation devices simply to learn to
walk. She competes today in the F38
classification, a category for athletes
with coordination impairments
affecting one side of the body more
than the other.
She speaks about that beginning
without self-pity. "I had a stroke in the
womb and was born with cerebral
palsy, so I really do not know what
'normal' is," she has said. "I have
impaired use of my right side and
needed intense therapies and electric
devices to learn to walk. So, I do
understand the challenges and the
journey to building confidence as a
disabled person."
From Able-Bodied Competition to
World Records
Kruger's path into throwing sports
began in able-bodied competition,
training and competing against
athletes who could throw further
than her. Rather than discourage
her, it pushed her forward. Her rise
since then has been extraordinary.
She won silver at the 2019 World
Para Athletics Championships in
Dubai as a teenager, competed at
the delayed Tokyo 2020 Paralympics
at just 16, and has gone on to break
the F38 discus world record multiple
times, most recently with a throw of
WISA | WOMEN IN SPORTS AFRICA
14
GSPORT AWARDS 2026
38.82 metres at the 2024 World Para
Athletics Championships in Kobe,
Japan. Weeks later in Paris, she won
Paralympic gold in the same event
with a Paralympic record throw of
38.70 metres.
By 2025, she was expanding her
range further still, adding shot put
to her discus programme and
competing at the World Athletics
Championships in India. That year
also brought the 2025 Zanele Situ
Trophy at the Winelands International
Para Athletics Championships and
recognition as Athletics South Africa's
Athlete of the Year with a Disability,
cementing a run of accolades that
culminated in this year's Gsport win.
A Family Affair
Kruger's success has never been a
solo effort. Her father, Andries, is her
coach and a daily presence in her
training, while her sister first inspired
her to take up shot put and discus.
The financial reality of para-athletics
in South Africa is one she speaks
about candidly. "My parents paid for
my first five competitions," she has
said. "My sister gives me so much
support, and I am thankful for every
small donation and sponsorship
because this sport is expensive."
What Sport Gave Her
Kruger credits athletics with reshaping
her entire life. "Without sport, I'd be
lying in bed all day," she has said.
She has named Paralympic high
jump champion Nicola McDermott-
Olyslagers as a personal role model,
saying her hard work and dedication
push her to work even harder. Her
own guiding quote, one she returns
to often, is: "Do your best and God will
do the rest."
Beyond her medals and records,
Kruger describes herself as a
passionate advocate for para-
athletics, hoping to raise awareness
and promote inclusivity within the
sport. It is a mission she takes
seriously. "Now I can open eyes,
reshape perceptions and inspire
others," she has said of her platform
as one of South Africa's most
decorated young para-athletes.
Still Chasing the Next Challenge
True to form, Kruger shows no sign of
settling. "There's always something
else, some new challenge," she has
said. She has also spoken about
what recognition like the Gsport
Award means beyond the trophy
itself, seeing it as a boost for her hard
work and a platform to advocate
for para-sport more broadly. For a
young athlete who was once told
what her body might never do, that
appetite for the next challenge, and
the platform her Gsport win now gives
her, has become the defining feature
of her career.
WISA | WOMEN IN SPORTS AFRICA
15
GSPORT AWARDS 2026
Katleho Malebana,
the Teenager Carrying
a Nation’s Belief
Three years ago, Katleho Malebana was a ballgirl on the sideline of the 2022
WAFCON final, watching Banyana-Banyana lift the trophy after beating
Morocco. Today, the Boksburg-born midfielder captains South Africa’s junior
national teams, starts for Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies in the Hollywoodbets
Super League, and has already pulled on the senior Banyana-Banyana
jersey. It is, by any measure, a meteoric rise.
From the Sidelines to the Starting
Eleven
Malebana came through the
Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies Academy
after starting out at Alberton FC,
JVW Girls and Blackball Future. Her
progress was rapid: by 2023, she was
already turning heads, named Player
of the Tournament at the CAF African
Schools Football Championship
qualifier. In February 2025, days after
her 16th birthday, she made her
senior international debut for South
Africa against Lesotho, becoming
one of the youngest players to earn a
senior Banyana-Banyana cap.
Her club breakthrough followed soon
after. Malebana marked her first-
team Sundowns debut by scoring
in a 6-0 win over Richmond United,
and has since become a regular
in a squad that went on to win the
Hollywoodbets Super League. At
the end of 2025, she captained
Sundowns' junior side to the CAF
Under-17 Girls Integrated Football
Tournament title in Zimbabwe, a
campaign in which her team scored
30 goals and conceded just one.
A Captain Before She Could Vote
Leadership has followed Malebana at
every level. She has captained South
Africa at under-15 and under-17
level, led the country's under-20s at
the Region 5 Games in Windhoek,
and has often done so while leading
players older than herself. Part of
national camps since she was
thirteen, she says she understands
the nerves of a first call-up, and sees
part of her role as steadying younger
players through that pressure. On
the pitch, she plays as an attacking
midfielder capable of dropping into a
defensive role when needed, valued
for her vision and instinct for the
assist, though she can find the net
too.
The Recognition Is Following the
Performances
Most recently, Malebana was
named School Sports Star of the
Year at the 21st Gsport Awards, held
at the Wanderers Club in Illovo,
Johannesburg on 8 August 2026,
alongside 27 other honourees across
sport, coaching and media. At 17,
she was the youngest name on the
night's list, and coverage noted she
was the only winner to describe her
feeling as complicated rather than
simple, before dedicating the evening
to the parents who backed her from
the start. She was also included in
the SuperSport Schools Class of
2024, and was named Player of the
Tournament at the 2023 CAF African
Schools Football Championship
qualifier.
Her Message to the Next
Generation
For a young girl in Boksburg watching
Malebana's rise and wondering
if the same path is possible, her
message is straightforward: anything
is possible, but only for those who
believe in themselves and are willing
to chase it. It's a message she
repeats to herself on the harder
days too.
WISA | WOMEN IN SPORTS AFRICA
16
WOMEN IN SPORT
Shaping the Future of
Women’s Netball
For Dumisani Chauke, netball was never the obvious
choice. In fact, it was almost an afterthought.
rowing up in Malamulele,
Limpopo, Chauke tried her
hand at basketball, volleyball,
football and softball before netball
entered the picture. It was a teacher,
Mateola, who asked her to help the
school team one afternoon. They
won, she discovered she had a
natural talent for the game and a
journey that would take her from a
gravel court to the national setup had
begun.
After moving to Polokwane, Chauke
initially hoped to continue playing
basketball, only to discover there
was no girl’s team. Netball became
her sporting home. She started in the
school’s D team before working her
way into the A team by the end of the
season. In 2002, she became the only
player from her school selected for the
South Africa Under-16 netball team.
Her journey, however, was built as
much on setbacks as it was on
success.
Chauke recalls repeatedly making
national squads without making the
final team. She was named Best
Shooter at the 2009 SPAR National
Championships in the Eastern Cape
and again at the 2013 National
Championships in Rustenburg, yet
selection remained elusive.
Rather than allowing disappointment
to define her, she allowed it to shape
her.
“Not everything that you want or desire
actually happens, but sometimes
it’s about who you become in that
process,” she says.
That resilience now informs her
contribution to the development of
netball. Chauke is passionate about
taking the game into rural and
disadvantaged communities and
using her own story to show young
girls that their circumstances do not
have to determine their futures.
“If it can happen for me, it can happen
for you,” she says.
Having worked across different levels
of the game, from grassroots and
schools to university, provincial and
national structures… Chauke has
witnessed the growth of women’s
netball firsthand. She believes the
sport has become increasingly
visible, with corporate South Africa
playing an important role in creating
opportunities.
But she believes the next step is clear:
professionalisation.
“Netball is not professional at the
moment in South Africa,” Chauke says,
highlighting the pay gap that prevents
players from making a sustainable
living from the sport. Her vision is for
South African players to become
household names and for young girls
to dream of becoming professional
netballers without having to leave the
country to find those opportunities.
Achieving that, she argues requires
netball to be treated as a business. The
sport must strengthen its commercial
value, maximise broadcasting and
sponsorship opportunities and build
a proposition that makes corporate
partners want to invest.
Women must also be at the centre of
those conversations.
“It’s critical” Chauke says of women
occupying influential positions across
coaching, administration, leadership
and decision-making. “We open doors
for each other. We even let the doors
open for those coming after us.”
For Chauke, shaping the future is
therefore both a privilege and a
responsibility. She continues to use her
voice in boardrooms, on platforms and
in communities to advocate for the
sport and inspire those coming behind
her.
Her message to the next generation is
simple, but powerful: “Keep walking into
every room as yourself. Bold, prepared
and unapologetic. Take up space. Be
who you are. The world
will adjust.”
WISA | WOMEN IN SPORTS AFRICA
17
WOMEN IN SPORT
From Tzaneen to
Taking Charge:
Khanyisa Chawane’s Time to Lead
here is something special
about watching a player
grow into the kind of leader
she once looked up to. For
Khanyisa Chawane, that journey has
taken her from the courts of Tzaneen
to the biggest stages in world netball
and now, into the captain’s chair of
the SPAR Proteas.
Born in Tzaneen, Limpopo, on 14
January 1996, Chawane’s sporting
journey started early. She played a
variety of sports growing up before
netball began to emerge as her
calling. By high school, she was
taking the sport seriously, and being
selected for the South African U17
team gave her an early glimpse of
what could lie ahead.
Her rise continued at the University
of the Free State, where she became
a standout player for the Kovsies.
In 2018, she was named the best
student netball player in the country
and also made her Proteas debut
against Australia.
A year later, Chawane found
herself on the World Cup stage in
Liverpool. What could have been an
intimidating first major international
tournament quickly became a
defining moment. She featured in all
eight of South Africa’s matches as
the Proteas reached the semi-finals
for the first time in their World Cup
history.
But Chawane’s story is about more
than medals, caps and statistics.
Her career has been shaped by
resilience. She experienced the
loss of her mother at just 14, and
six years later, her family home in
Bushbuckridge was destroyed by
fire. Through those difficult moments,
netball became more than a sport
–it became an escape, a source of
purpose and ultimately a pathway to
a bigger life.
That perspective has followed her
onto the international court. Known
for her versatility across wing attack,
centre and wing defence, Chawane
brings speed, agility and the ability
to read and influence the tempo of
a game. Her experience has also
extended beyond South Africa, with
time playing in England’s professional
netball environment, where she
gained exposure to the intensity of
international competition.
Today, however…the challenge is
different. Chawane is no longer
simply proving that she belongs
among the best. She is helping set
the standard for the next generation.
Appointed Proteas captain, she has
stepped into a role previously held
by respected leaders such as Bongi
Msomi. In 2026, she led South Africa
at the Commonwealth Games in
Glasgow, where the team entered the
tournament with a clear ambition of
reaching the semi-finals.
For Chawane, leadership has never
been about being the loudest voice
in the room. Earlier in her career, she
described leadership as serving,
being consistent and letting your
actions speak. That philosophy feels
particularly fitting now.
From the young girl discovering her
love for netball in Limpopo to the
woman wearing the captain’s bib for
South Africa, Khanyisa Chawane’s
journey is a reminder that leadership
is not something you suddenly
become. It is something you grow
into…one game, one challenge and
one brave step at a time.
WISA | WOMEN IN SPORTS AFRICA
18
WOMEN IN SPORT
How Ellen “The Tigress” Simwaka Fought
Her Way Back to Herself
orn in Malawi and raised in
difficult circumstances, Simwaka
grew up surrounded largely by
men and experienced trauma that
would shape much of her early life.
At 12, she was sexually abused by
an uncle – an experience she kept
largely to herself for years.
“I thought maybe I don’t have a
future,” she recalls.
Then came boxing.
She first found sport through soccer
before stepping into a boxing gym
in 2012. What began as a way to
channel her anger and pain soon
became something far greater. In
the discipline of training, she found
structure. In the ring, she found
purpose. And, slowly, she began
finding herself again.
“Boxing changed my life,” she says.
That transformation eventually
carried her across borders. Simwaka
moved to South Africa in 2017,
determined to turn boxing into more
than a passion –she wanted it to
become a pathway to a better life for
herself and her family. South Africa
would become the backdrop to some
of the biggest chapters of her career.
In 2018, she claimed the WBF
International bantamweight title after
stopping South African Simangele
Hadebe in their third meeting,
less than two years after turning
professional. She would go on to add
the IBF Africa bantamweight crown
to her résumé, establishing herself
as one of the continent’s determined
female boxing talents.
But for Simwaka, the greatest victory
has never simply been the belt.
It was the training camp before
winning her first title… the moment
when exhaustion told her to stop and
she chose to keep going.
“As an amateur, you fight three
rounds; as a pro, you are stepping
into deep, dark waters,” she says. “The
belts are beautiful, but the mental
toughness I earned to get them is
what stays.”
That mental toughness now extends
beyond her own career. Simwaka
sees herself in young girls watching
her fight and wants her name to
become shorthand for possibility:
If she did it, I can do it bigger and
better.
Her journey also reflects the realities
many female fighters face. Training
gear, medical scans and travel
can come directly out of their own
pockets, while opportunities to
compete remain limited. Simwaka
has previously called for more
opportunities for African women in
boxing, arguing that talent cannot
flourish without the chance to fight.
Away from competition, she works as
a personal trainer - a role that gives
her a different kind of purpose. In
the ring, everything revolves around
her performance. With clients, the
focus shifts to helping someone else
discover their strength.
And perhaps that is the heart of
Simwaka’s story.
She once entered a boxing gym
carrying wounds she did not know
how to heal. Today, she walks into
that same world as a champion,
trainer, breadwinner and role model.
She is still fighting. But now, she is not
fighting simply to survive.
She is fighting to show another girl
that a future can exist after the pain.
From Survival to the Spotlight:
Before Ellen “The Tigress” Simwaka became a champion, she was a young
girl in Lilongwe simply trying to survive.
WISA | WOMEN IN SPORTS AFRICA
19
WOMEN IN SPORT
HER STORY: MBALI SIGIDI
The woman behind the voice
By Mamello Monyake
“It’s not about how you start in life, but the person you choose to become.”
n television, Mbali Sigidi
is composed, articulate
and at home behind the
microphone. But beyond
the cameras and sporting headlines
is a woman whose journey has
been shaped by adversity, faith,
motherhood and an unwavering
commitment to authenticity.
“I am allergic to perfection,” Mbali
says –a line that captures the woman
she has become. The award-winning
sports journalist, broadcaster and
mother of two is intentional about
using her story to remind others that
a difficult beginning does not have to
determine the ending.
The last born of four children, Mbali
grew up in a home where sport
and faith were part of everyday
life. She played basketball, netball,
football and athletics, while her father
remained a constant presence at
school events and sporting moments.
Her mother, a nurse, worked shifts, but
both parents instilled in her a strong
foundation of faith.
Behind those happy memories,
however, was childhood trauma she
kept buried for years. It was only
later, during a church service, that
she began confronting what had
happened to her and the emotions
she had suppressed.
Her journey into adulthood brought
further challenges. Becoming a
mother while still at university,
navigating heartbreak and later
losing her father in 2019 forced Mbali
to confront questions of identity,
purpose and resilience. Yet, after
heartbreak, she found love again
and was blessed with a supportive
husband who has been a steady
source of love and encouragement,
reminding her that new beginnings
can emerge from even the most
difficult seasons.
Her career journey was just as
unconventional. After university,
Mbali explored branding before
realising that sport was where she
belonged. She attended auditions,
endured rejection, and eventually
found her breakthrough at Soweto
TV, where she learned on the job and
earned her first industry recognition.
Her path led to SuperSport, Vision
View Sports Radio, and international
opportunities, including selection for
the AIPS Young Reporters programme
to cover the FIFA U-17 Women’s
World Cup in Uruguay in 2018. Even
through rejection, unemployment and
difficult seasons in the industry. Her
achievements include the 2018 SAB
Sports Media Awards Best Newcomer
award and the 2021 gsport Public
Choice Award.
For Mbali, finding your voice is about
more than speaking loudly. It is
about knowing who you are when
the cameras are off, understanding
that your past does not cancel your
purpose, and having the courage to
let your story serve someone else. Her
journey is a reminder that the woman
behind the microphone can have a
story just as powerful as the stories
she tells on air.
And perhaps that is the blueprint
she wants to leave behind: not a
picture of a flawless woman who
had an easy road, but one of a
woman who kept becoming. Because
Mbali Sigidi’s story was never about
having a fairytale beginning. It is
about choosing, again and again, to
become the woman she was meant
to be.
I am allergic
to perfection
WISA | WOMEN IN SPORTS AFRICA
20
BUSINESS OF SPORT
BEYOND
DA FIELD -
AD
BUILDING
SUSTAINABLE
SPORTS BUSINESSES
IN AFRICA
BUILDING
SUSTAINABLE
SPORTS BUSINESSES
IN AFRICA
BUILDING
SUSTAINABLE
SPORTS BUSINESSES
IN AFRICA
August 2026
Beyond_da_Field is an educational and networking platform
where we ignite change through impactful initiatives aimed
at uplifting women, men, boys and girls from rural areas,
farms and previously disadvantaged backgrounds who
aspire to lead conversations and shape their futures within
and beyond football through entrepreneurship.
Using youth summits, conferences, seminars and intimate
conversations, we connect football contributors across all
walks of life, but importantly equip them to start scalable
businesses.
Helping footballers thrive
What we stand for
Our work focuses on empowerment and
career development for footballers,
coaches, agents and talent identifiers –
both during their active years and long
after the final whistle.
Connecting football with humanity,
purpose and self-awareness.
Creating career pathways beyond the
playing field.
Championing mental, emotional and
physical well-being.
Giving rural talent a platform to be
seen,heard and equipped.
Meeting your needs
Entrepreneurship Workshops
Hands-on sessions helping players and coaches
design side-hustles and long-term income streams,
while still active in football.
Basics of business models & money
management.
Translating football skills into business value.
Inspiring case studies from SA sports
entrepreneurs.
069 257 6170
https://www.bdflife.co.za
8998 Mchubakazi Butterworth