Following their heroic displays that saw them crowned champions of the COSAFA region in the CAF Women’s Champions League qualifiers, head coach of the University of Cape Town, Thinasonke Mbuli has hailed her players’ impressive ability of balancing the pressures of an international club competition, a domestic season and their demanding academic schedule.
The University side secured their place in this year’s CAF Women’s Champions League on debut after overcoming Botswana’s Gaborone United 9-8 in a nail-biting penalty shootout at the qualifiers held in Malawi.
The victory sees them join their South African compatriots, Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies FC, who qualify as defending champions.
Speaking after the victory, Mbuli heaped praise on her players, saying that they were not just good footballers, but good academic students with a bright future ahead of them.
“It is important to remember that these are students. We don’t have a professional football league for women in South Africa. Ahead of this final, they had to study, write exams, some would miss or arrive late at team meetings because they had to attend classes online, so it takes a lot to be a student athlete at this level” said Mbuli.
“Whenever I look at them, I always say I am blessed to have a group of athletes that is as talented as these ones because when it’s time to study, they study and when it’s time to play football, they give you their all. September, we have graduations at UCT and some of these players will graduate. So, they are not just good footballers, they are good students” added the coach.
While this will be the University side’s first participation at the CAF Women’s Champions League, international football will not be an entirely new experience for the coach.
Mbuli is assistant to reigning CAF Women’s Coach of the Year, Desiree Ellis and was part of the technical team that masterminded a maiden TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations gold medal for Banyana Banyana in Morocco two years ago.
She was also part of the national team’s first ever FIFA Women’s World Cup qualification to the knockout stage last year.
Source: CAF Online
