USA-based midfielder Anele Komani says she would love nothing but to represent her country.

Currently with Fort Lauderdale United FC in the USL Super League, the Durban-born player has been following the Sasol-sponsored Banyana Banyana with keen interest, with the hope of getting a call-up from head coach, Dr Desiree Ellis.

The 26-year-old left South Africa in 2009 heading to the United Kingdom when her parents moved.

In 2017, Komani went to the USA to play college football (soccer) at the University of West Alabama, where she was studying Exercise Science and Business Administration.

During her time in the UK, she spent some time with the Chelsea Academy. 

Post her studies she had stints with several clubs including, Clube de Albergaria (Portugal), Hapoel Petah Tikvah (Israel) and Karadeniz Eregli (Turkey) before finding a home at Fort Lauderdale.

The midfielder has never played club football in South Africa but whenever she visits the country she goes to Durban where all her family still lives. This is where she finds time to train with Durban Ladies that is campaigning in the Hollywoodbets Super League.

Komani is also building a legacy here at home in South Africa through the ATK High Performance Football – an organisation whose aim is to bring about change to the young girls around the Durban area through collaboration with overseas contacts.

Fort Lauderdale United is currently fourth in the eight-team league, on 33 points after 21 outings. They are seven points behind log leaders Carolina Ascent FC who are two games ahead.

The African Champions recently played two friendly internationals, defeating their counterparts from Malawi in both (3-0 and 2-1).

The South Africans return to action in May/June as they round off preparations for the upcoming TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in July where they are the defending champions.

CentreCircle.online caught up with Komani at her base in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in the USA to find out more about the midfielder and her ambitions.

For those that don’t know you, who is Anele Komani?

• My name is Anele Komani, and I play as a midfielder for Fort Lauderdale United in the USL. I was born in Durban, South Africa and I haven’t played professionally for a club there but whenever I go visit, I always play for Durban ladies or train with them and that’s the team that I played for, I guess.

How did you end up in the USA?

• My first ever time in the US was back in 2017 I went to the University of West Alabama on a full ride scholarship and then from there I kind of bounced around in Europe for a bit professionally and then I just ended up back in the US through my agency. I then joined Fort Lauderdale United, and it’s been great.

How much do you know about SA women’s football?

• I know that it’s on the come up, we try to build a really good atmosphere. I know that we’re trying to make it so that we have a professional women’s league over there because at the moment we don’t have one but there’s still a league that women compete in. But I would say the type of football that we play over in South Africa is very expressive and very creative, it’s not like European football, we allow players to be creative, allow them to show their flair and that’s the stuff that you like to see honestly, its personality football.

What do you think of Banyana Banyana?

• I think Banyana Banyana is very good. Coach Ellis’ ideas and her kind of tactical awareness and the personality that she has is really good and I like how she likes tries to bring in younger players and tries to incorporate them into the squad and then also with the experience of the older girls that have played in Europe, that have played over in the US. I think it’s a real good match from young to more experienced and I like the fact that now we’re starting to really compete in Europe, and in the World Cup we went to round of 16, which was really good, very impressive. It’s good to see the buildup of the team over the years and what they’ve been able to accomplish, that’s awesome.

How much would you like to represent your country?

• I mean I would love to represent my country, and I would love to get into that squad going to WAFCON and get international experience. I have had previous conversations with coach Ellis about coming in and potentially coming into a camp, so I’m just waiting on the invite, and I know I’ll be ready for it.

What would that call up mean to you?

• It would be a great deal to represent my country, to put my family name on the map in my country, it would mean the world to me honestly.

What’s keeping you busy in the USA currently?

• At the minute I’m just trying to focus on my professional career but also, I’ve started an organization back in South Africa that helps kids be exposed to scouts, agents and US college coaches so that they can get opportunities, like level up their game. I started an organization called ATK High Performance Football and we just had a recent showcase back in June of last year, and from that showcase we actually had a kid that was scouted by a club in Dubai and then went on trial for that club in Dubai. I am also working with a couple of coaches, college coaches to try and give some players from the showcase an opportunity to potentially get scholarships and come to the US and study. My life has changed since coming over to America and being able to provide that opportunity for other people from my home country would be amazing.

When last were you in SA?

• This past December and it was a blast honestly, it was so good just being in that atmosphere because we take December very seriously. For us the Christmas holidays start from the 1st of December all the way to like the 5th of January, we take it very seriously. Some people probably start in November, and we just have a good time, we party and just be with family.

When are you next in SA?

• If we have a decent amount of time between the end of season and the start of the new season then yeah will definitely go back, just to see my family because I go long periods of time without seeing them, and then it’s just to show face, to say, ‘hi I am back,” and then I am off again. But being there just resets you and re-energizes you. My why, my biggest Y in playing football is to make my family proud, so being able to then go back and be with them is kind of resetting and re-energizing.

ABOUT THE USL SUPER LEAGUE:

• The USL Super League is a Division One professional women’s soccer league, operated by the United Soccer League, the largest and fastest-growing pre-professional and professional soccer organization in the United States.
• Built for the future of women’s soccer, the USL Super League has committed to U.S. Soccer’s Division One standards, reflecting its collective vision to be a global leader on and off the field while providing more opportunities for more women in more communities.  
• The inaugural 2024 season kicked off August 2024 and features 8 teams with additional teams set to join in subsequent seasons. 
• Uniquely for American soccer, the USL Super League will play on the “fall-to-summer” soccer calendar traditionally followed around the world, ensuring players are able to represent both club and country and allowing clubs to actively participate in the emerging global women’s transfer market. 
• The USL Super League will sit at the top of the USL’s distinct youth-to-pro women’s pathway
• The complete pathway includes the USL W League, the leading pre-professional women’s soccer league in the United States; the USL Academy, an advanced talent-development platform connected to professional and pre-professional USL clubs; and USL Youth, a premier national youth competition. (source: ussuperleague.com)

By Matlhomola Morake