THE RISE OF A FOOTBALL SWEETHEART
Lone Gaofetoge grew up in a football hood
Lone Gaofetoge is many things, a prodigiously talented footballer, a decent human, and one of the country’s most talented sporting exports. Looking up to the likes of Chelsea midfield dynamo, N’golo Kante and Mamelodi Sundown’s veteran midfielder, Hlompho Kekana, Gaofetoge is a serious force to reckon with.
Now plying her trade in Zambia, it all began in the streets of Maruapula. Perceived a hub of talents, predominantly football, Maruapula has produced amongst others: former Miss Universe, Mpule Kwelagobe, senior national team assistant coach, Letang Kgwengwenyane and Diphetogo Selolwane, just to mention but a few.
It is no surprise that Gaofetoge lived football
from possibly the first day she could walk. With women football still at its infant stages back then, playing with boys was the only option for young girls who loved the game. “I was fortunate that Kakale Mabechu was a development coach of some young boys close to where I stayed. I trained with them, he was patient with me and encouraged me to stay with the group,” Gaofetoge reminisces of her early days in football. It was at the Wonder Girls in 2015 when a 14 year old, Gaofetoge got her big break and her resolve to become a professional footballer. In her debut match, the talented versatile midfielder came on as a second half substitute to score a hat rick and complete a come-back as Wonder Girls downed Makufa FC 3-2 during a league encounter.
“I was the youngest player in the team, fortunately, my school team, Maoka Community Junior Secondary football coach, Rebaone Magapatona was also our coach at Wonder Girls, so my integration into the team was seamless,” she said.
In an endeavour to grow her talents, in 2016, she moved to Girona FC, a side which was then under the tutelage of Marumo Tracey Taphaphiwa, the current national Under-17 girls team coach. After turning down Gaborone United ladies, Double Action and Big Sisters, she felt Girona was a team that will enhance her growth, given their arsenal at the time. “Tracey allowed us to make mistakes as part of our development; she’s a good parental figure and inspired us with lots of confidence. It was under her mentorship when I received my first national team call up for U17 camp at the age of 15. I played with lots of good players, well balanced team and they made me a better player,” Galefetoge recalls.
Whilst Tracey exuded confidence and parental support to the youngster, it was a different story back home, her father is supportive and the mother wanted her to stay as far as possible from the game of football. Her attempts to seek refuge in other sporting codes suffered a set-back when she had a back-injury while throwing javelin and she resorted for a return to football. Highlighting her daily struggles to maintain peace in the house back then, Lone revealed that, “at times I had to hide my injuries so that my mom won’t notice that I got hurt; she wasn’t too supportive but my dad on the other hand provided for my needs to be able to play. But now everything is fine.
“I’ve always dreamt of playing abroad, and my wish is to play for PSG (Paris Saint Germain). Now I’m in Zambia with Lusaka Dynamos and I’m focusing on working hard and to improve. The Zambian League is more demanding as there is a lot of physicality and intense pressing. I’ve learned to be tough,” she responded to a question regarding her current and future plans. She added that her move to Zambia was mainly due to lack of local football activity, but even before then, she had rejected an offer from another Zambian outfit, Yasa Queens, who proposed a deal a year before her move to Dynamos. After overcoming adaptation struggles, which include two occasions where she had to return home for treatment, Gaofetoge settled well and became an important player for her side. After eliminating South Africa’s Banyana Banyana in an Olympic qualifier clash in 2019, Gaofetolwe described the two legged tie as the toughest encounter she has ever played. “We were up against one of the best teams in Africa, facing the likes of Refiloe Jane and Wayde Van Wyk, it was tough. This is the only match in my career which I preferred to be on the bench. I came on with 15 minutes left in extra time and it was a nerve wrecking experience.
Our goalkeeper coach, Joseph Maposa was very supportive and gave me the courage to take the second penalty when we went for shoot-outs−which I scored,” she shared.
She urges other local girls to explore opportunities to play abroad, “I’m really happy that some national team players are going abroad, international experience will benefit our national team in various competitions and I hope more players could join clubs outside the country.”