Vhahangwele makes a name for herself as a female referee
Vhahangwele Nembaleni is quickly becoming a prominent figure as she continues to endear herself to local soccer lovers.
LIMPOPO – Vhahangwele Nembaleni is a female soccer referee from Itsani to take note of.
She is quickly becoming a prominent figure as she continues to endear herself to local soccer lovers.
The 32-year-old mother of two, a son and girl, told CV that her love for soccer started when she started to play for Shayandima Morning Stars in the Safa Sasol Women’s League in 2009.
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Nembaleni said when she quit the team in 2013, she was recruited by PSL referee Khamusi Razwimisani and former referee and match commissioner Rudzani Mulaudzi.
“I took the bull by the horns and told myself that it was time to realise my potential as a referee.”
She officiated at the inter-regional ladies soccer tournament in 2014, where she made an impression on the match commissioners.
She was asked to undertake fitness tests in Polokwane upon her return. Nembaleni passed and was selected for the SAB League as a referee.
Nembaleni recalls the first ABC Motsepe league match, between the Dolphins and the Winners, she officiated.
“Fortunately, the match went very smoothly and ended 2-0 in favour of the Dolphins. Many people questioned why I was there as referee, while others stood up for me and said: ‘Look at her decisions. She knows what she’s doing’.”
She has been on the Safa ABC Motsepe Promotional League’s female referees panel and served as assistant referee in the Premier Soccer League and Confederation of African Football (CAF) tournament.
Nembaleni went to Cameroon in 2018 where she assisted in the u/20 women’s match between Cameroon and Algeria.
In 2019 she assisted in the u/17 women’s match between Uganda and Nigeria in Uganda.
She sustained an injury after the tournament and decided to take a break, but now she is ready to jog out onto the soccer field once again.
“When I referee, I make sure that I adhere to all the rules and this makes me respectable on the soccer pitch. The fact that I’m a woman has nothing to do with my authority on the pitch,” she concluded.
