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360º PERSPECTIVES | ISSUE 4 | 2015/2016
UWC student and rising football star Thembi Kgatlana represented South Africa at the Olympic Games.
Udubs star’s gritty Olympic debut
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hen Thembi Kgatlana’s parents banned her from playing football with boys, she would escape through the window or hide her soccer boots in her school bag and pretend to be involved in extra-curricular activities after school. Her love for and commitment to the sport and brilliant skills have seen Kgatlana become
one of the rising stars of South African women’s football. The 20-year-old UWC star striker was in the Banyana Banyana (senior national women’s team) camp in early 2016 in preparation for the Rio 2016 Olympics Games in Brazil in August. Kgatlana, who was doing her BA in tourism management at UWC last year, had to make the difficult decision to take a break from her