Thembi Kgatlana

Midfielder • Age 30 • #16

Chrestinah Thembi Kgatlana is a South African forward who represented South Africa at the senior international level and has played in clubs across six different countries (United States, China, Portugal, Spain, and Mexico) and has won the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations title.

Photo: IMAGO | Newscom World

Fun Facts about Thembi

Discover more than stats. Get more of who she is.

She grew up in Mohlakeng, a small town in Randfontein, South Africa, where she first started playing football with boys on dirt pitches at the age of eight.

Her mother originally wanted her to be a track athlete, as her mother had been a runner herself.

She is a published author, having co-written a children's book titled Girls Don’t Do That and a biography titled Strike a Rock: The Thembi Kgatlana Story.

Before every game, she performs a personal devotion that involves reading the Bible and praying to stay calm and focused.

In 2017, she founded the Thembi Kgatlana Foundation, which hosts an annual tournament in her hometown to support youth and donate essentials like sanitary pads and school uniforms.