Yolula shines in women football
“I was introduced to the sport by a family member. I joined the boys playing on the streets for small bets.”
A 23-year-old Tembisa resident plays and shines as a member of the South African national women’s soccer team.
Yolula Tsawe, originally hails from Umthatha, near Cape Town, where she first began playing soccer.
“I was introduced to the sport by a family member. I joined the boys playing on the streets for small bets,” she said.
Her opportunity to play professional football came when she was signed for Coastal United, a women’s team when it was playing in the Sanlam Vodacom league.
“On the field I played as a right winger. I suffered an injury and then became a goalkeeper,” she said.
Yolula played for the team for eight years before she was discovered in 2008 by Augustine Makalakalane, who was the national team’s coach.
Yolula excelled as a goalkeeper for the national team, from then until today.
While she was playing for the national team, a friend introduced her to the Tswane University of Technology’s (TUT) head coach.
“I was a student at Tswane College at the time. TUT’s coach gave me a chance to play for the institution, despite the fact that I wasn’t a TUT student,” she said.
She said when TUT’s coach left the team, she had to move to Chloorkop to train with the Mamelodi Sundown’s women’s side last year.
Yolulula moved again from Mamelodi Sundowns to the Janine Van Wyk Football Club.
“I would say I was head-hunted but I still had to do trials, which the owner of the club was happy with. I have been there for about three months now; it’s my first season,” said Yolula.
“At Sundowns we were not played equally and I needed regular game time to hone my skills.”
She is looking forward to playing in the new team and she said the players are very welcoming.
When asked who inspires her, she said she looks up to Janine.
“I wish to play overseas one day,” she said.
Yolula believes women’s football in South Africa still has a long way to go before it can be at the same level as men’s football, especially with regards to salaries and sponsorship.
“Education is key, even if you play professionally. I want to study sports management for compliance and only then will I think about my own club,” she said.
