Banyana Banyana’s Thembi Kgatlana stands at the gates of glory.
She could make history and become the first South African woman footballer to qualify for the inaugural two new prestigious FIFA tournaments: the Women’s Champions Cup and the Women’s Club World Cup.
Kgatlana was in fine form on Thursday morning (22 May 2025) as she led her Mexican side, Autonomous University of Nuevo Leon (UANL) Tigres to a dominant 2-0 win over America’s Portland Thorns FC.
This was in the semifinal of the new CONCACAF Women’s Champions Cup.
The clash took place at the Estadio Universitario in Nuevo, León in Mexico – which is home to Tigres.
The CONCACAF Women’s Champions Cup is a qualifier to the 2026 FIFA Women’s Champions Cup and the 2028 FIFA Club Women’s Club World Cup.
Kgatlana scored Tigres’ second goal in the 27th minute after pouncing on an error by Thorns goalkeeper Bella Bixby. Earlier, Aaliyah Farmer had given the Liga MX Femenil side the lead 12 minutes into the fixture.
The South African was a livewire during her 72 minutes on the pitch, and could have scored a further two goals but was denied in the 30th and 38th minutes. She was voted the player of the match.
In Sunday morning’s final (25 May 2025), Tigres will face another American side, NJ/NY Gotham FC who defeated Mexico’s Club America 3-1 in an earlier semi-final encounter played at the same venue.
The victors will not only be the inaugural CONCACAF W Champions winners, but also book their tickets to the 2026 FIFA Women’s Champions Cup as well as qualify for the 2028 FIFA Women’s Club World Cup.
Kgatlana has been exempted from the upcoming two friendly international matches where the Sasol-sponsored Banyana Banyana will be taking on Botswana (Wednesday, 28 May 2025) and Zambia (Tuesday, 3 June 2025).
While Banyana head coach Desiree Ellis would have wanted to have her for the two matches, she will be hoping Kgatlana brings the fine form to the TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) scheduled for Morocco from 5-27 July 2025. South Africa are the defending champions.
Banyana start their training camp on Sunday.
By Matlhomola Morake
