Vilakazi is still going strong

IT’S been quite a journey for 30-year-old Banyana Banyana defender Nothando Vilakazi who has been playing for the national team for more than 10 years, earning more than 100 caps.

Recently she signed her first international contract with Lithuania side Gintra Universitetas to further her experience in the game.

Now based in Lithuania, Vilakazi joined Banyana in the USA and formed part of the squad that played an international friendly against the country in Santa Clara, California earlier this month. Growing up in Middleburg, Vilakazi’s love for football began at the age of nine when she started playing with boys. Although her mother did not want her to play the game, the support from her aunt is what inspired her to pursue the sport.

“I used to play for a boys’ team, and I travelled a lot with them, but my mother was not comfortable with this arrangement. The team that I played for was owned by sporting personality Walter Mokoena,” Vilakazi said.

“Although I played with boys, during camp Walter’s mother would make a plan for me and make sure that I slept at their house because I was the only girl in the team.” The left-footed defender only started playing football with girls at the age of 14. She then started competing in the Sasol League when she was 17, playing for the Highlanders team in Mpumalanga.

Her experience in playing with boys gave her the confidence to compete and play better than most girls.

“If it wasn’t for the Sasol League, I don’t know where I would be today. Their involvement did not only change the face of women’s football in South Africa, but my own personal life as well. For a change, I was able to make a difference at home and assist my parents,” Vilakazi, said.

Although joining Gintra Universitetas is one of her biggest achievements, Vilakazi’s favourite moment in her career was at the 2017 Cosafa Women’s Cup when she reached her 100th cap. “Reaching 100 caps definitely tops my favourite moments in my football career. It was a great feeling and I was really emotional because, at that moment, I realised that anything is possible,” she said. |

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