Banyana Banyana forward Thembi Kgatlana has cleared the air regarding her absence from the national team during the 2024 TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in Morocco earlier this year.
The Randfontein-born speedster excused herself from the squad citing personal reasons, leading to many thinking she had a fallout with the head coach as well as with the South African Football Association (SAFA), but Kgatlana says nothing could be further from the truth, as she also missed some of her club’s matches due to the same reason.
Banyana Banyana finished fourth in the continental tournament.
“I never had personal issues. I mean everyone had opinions, but I never had personal issues, actually it was something personal that I had to do – which had nothing to do with the Federation (SAFA) but me and my family. Everything is fine and thank you to the Federation, to my club also because I was absent for a really long time, thank you for the support that they’ve given me to be able to focus on the things that I needed to do,” a beaming Kgatlana told the media in Johannesburg.
The Mexico-based star last donned the national team jersey in April this year when she faced Malawi in back-to-back international friendly matches.
She has since missed clashes against Botswana, Zambia, Ghana, Tanzania, Mali, Senegal, Nigeria and Ghana.
“It’s amazing, always an honor to come back and represent the country. I’m in good spirits, I’m healthy and for me that’s very important to be able to add up to what the team needs of me,” added Kgatlana.
Kgatlana, along with three other Mexico-based players – Amogelang Motau, Sinoxolo Cesane and Hilda Magaia, was absent from the 1-all stalemate against the DR Congo on Wednesday (22 October 2025) in Kinshasa. The quartet will be available for selection in the return leg on Tuesday (28 October).
“The first thing is we got a very important away goal, we got a draw, now we are playing at home and that’s going to help us have the confidence that we need. We have a couple of days here at home to be able to plan well and see what we can get out on Tuesday. It was a team effort, the girls did really well, and we are happy to join the team and add up the experience that we have to help the team get a win on Tuesday,” said the UANL Tigres forward.
“Our chances of qualifying are very high, we are coming here, and we had four players that were not there, who are regular players in the starting line-up. To be able to help the team we already watched the video, we already know what the game plan is, the coaches have brought us up to speed to be able to understand what they need. We saw the strength, we saw the weaknesses, but I think now that we are playing at home, we have the home ground advantage for us to be able to play for our fans and to be able to regroup and get the confidence that we need to give to the country.”
Kgatlana would not be drawn to comment on the contract negotiations between Banyana head coach Dr Desiree Ellis and SAFA.
“That’s political, and I am not going to focus on that, it’s for the Federation and the coach to focus on – right now we know that we have a very important game against Congo to finish off on Tuesday and the mood is for us to get the win so that we can be able to qualify for the WAFCON,” concluded Kgatlana.
Banyana Banyana and DR Congo face off at the Dobsonville Stadium with a 7pm kickoff.
The overall winner over the two legs will qualify for the 2026 WAFCON which serves as a qualifier for the Brazil 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup – with the semifinalists securing tickets to South America.
By Matlhomola Morake
