Ben 10 reflects on the Mares’ historic WAFCON run OH WHAT A GOAL!
ended COSAFA tournament, the lanky left winger, Keitumetse Dithebe, 20, says she will never forget her heroics at her maiden appearance at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) held in Morocco back in July 2022.
Responding to questions asked by Voice Sport this week, Ben 10, as she affectionately known, said she learnt how to play football through playing with boys.
“I grew up playing street football with my brothers and other boys in my neighborhood, they were tough on me hence I had to be quicker as most girls are normally slow and that became a lesson that I will cherish for the rest of my life.
When I was doing Standard 5, I joined Prison XI ladies’ team. I later joined Makufa, before joining Mexican Girls,” she said.
Taking us back to her outstanding performance in Morocco, Dithebe is quick to admit that she was a bit nervous in the opening minutes of the first match against Burundi, but gradually grew into the game.
The Mmanoko lass told Voice Sport that the wonder goal that earned a Goal of the Tournament CAF nomination arrived when most of her teammates were unhappy with her for showing too much respect to the opponents.
“They were shouting at me, accusing me of passing the ball too much instead of taking responsibility. A pass came and I took a shot and it flew in. I was overjoyed as I was the first young Motswana woman to score at WAFCON,” said Dithebe.
“Qualifying for WAFCON for the first time was an unforgettable journey as we struggled for far too long. We went to Morocco as underdogs as most of our players are amateurs up against seasoned players from the best professional leagues across the world. I, however, believe we’ve learnt a lot, and we are going to build on that experience,” she said.
Quizzed about her brilliant free kick against the host nation (Morocco) which gave them confidence to keep fighting, she said; “I had told my teammates that they should leave free kicks to me, they all thought I was joking. I took it and it hit the back of the net. The home fans were stunned, and for a moment the goal eased the pressure, even though we eventually lost the match,” recalls Dithebe.
Dithebe, who models her play around the Polish and Barcelona FC talisman, Robert Lewandowski, told Voice Sport that she hopes to one day ply her trade in South Africa, with the ultimate goal being Europe.