Freezing conditions in London did not deter the 2021 Hollywoodbets Super League individual award winners from enjoying themselves on a week-long visit to the UK.
Accompanied by Indira Albuquerque from Hollywoodbets, the five players – Nompumelelo Nyandeni (JVW FC) – Top Goal scorer [shared]; Andisiwe Mgcoyi (Sundowns Ladies) – Top Goal scorer [shared]; Nthabiseng Majiya (Richmond United) – Young Player of the Year; Bambanani Mbane (Sundowns Ladies) – Player of the Year and Regirl Ngobeni (UWC) – Goalkeeper of the Year, all had a great time in London.
Due to unforeseen circumstances, Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies head coach Jerry Tshabalala, who is the 2021 Coach of the Year, was unable to travel.
The all-expenses paid trip was part of the prize for the individual winners, over and above the cash they received.
“We are proud of what we’re doing. Yes, we know that there’s a lot more that needs to be done – but it’s one step at a time and hopefully that it will encourage other corporates and other companies to come on board also do the same. In that way we can have a league that is full of investments and full of sponsorships and that should lead to the league being professionalized – and that is the full end goal,” said Albuquerque.
The group visited the GTech Community Stadium (Home of Brentford FC, who play in the Premier League), and were also given a taste of women’s football in England when they participated in a training session with the Brentford FC Ladies team.
To top it all, they witnessed a 2-0 victory by hosts Brentford FC over the visiting Bournemouth in a Premier League fixture (Saturday, 14 January).
For the last hurrah in England, perhaps the group’s biggest moment was when they found themselves among 46,811 fans – the second biggest crowd in WSL history – at the Emirates Stadium to watch a clash of the giants in the Women’s Super League – table-topping Chelsea going toe to toe against second-placed Arsenal (Sunday, 15 January).
The exciting encounter, which was one of the first women’s league matches of 2023 after a month-long break, ended in a 1-all stalemate following Chelsea’s 89th minute equaliser by Sam Kerr after Kim Little, the Gunners captain, had given her side the lead in the 57thminute.
The players landed in South Africa on Tuesday, 17 January.
“The trip meant everything to me. It showed me that anyone can literally do anything they set their mind to. This was my first tour/experience and obviously I want to go for more just to see what football is like it in other countries/continents. We mostly see these on television, so experiencing it live was really amazing,” said an elated Ngobeni.
“The highlight of the trip for me was having to watch the Arsenal and Chelsea match live. The atmosphere was amazing, it’s something I have always wished for, either playing or watching, so I got to tick the box for the latter – it was awesome. To see women’s games getting such support from fans, and for the tickets to be literally sold out for the game – that totally blew my mind. I wish we had that here at home in South Africa.”
Her words were echoed by Majiya:
“This was a very lovely trip, a great experience. The atmosphere and the training sessions were really good. Football that side is big and more advanced than here at home. One could see from the training sessions how challenging it was as they took it to the limit – they don’t save anything but give their all, said Majiya.
“I would love to thank Hollywoodbets and SAFA for everything they have done for us. And personally, the recognition I have has given me so many opportunities I didn’t think I would have, so my greatest gratitude goes to them.”
If what the players are saying is anything to go by, the Hollywoodbets coming into women’s football was a real gamechanger – they have helped increase the profile of elite women’s football league.
“We are happy that the trip was a success, and we are also pleased that the players enjoyed it. This was just to show that we have really invested in women’s football – and we are not saying we are going to find these players teams overseas, but just to show that we appreciate what they’ve done, and they deserve good things out of the sport. If that means that they get to travel the world a little bit then so be it,” added Albuquerque.
“And we must also appreciate our partners Brentford FC as well as the partnership with SAFA that allowed us to bring the ladies from the Hollywoodbets Super League – so for us it’s always good to cross pollinate between the partners and create good relationships. We are happy, and we will continue supporting the woman’s game and as long as we’re doing this, we always find a way to try and bring benefits to the players.”
In partnership with La Liga, Hollywoodbets will be taking another trip – this time to Spain – later this year with the individual awards winners of the 2022 season.
Among them will be Nyandeni and Majiya, who won their respective awards for the second year in a row. They will be joined by Jerry Tshabalala (Sundowns Ladies) – Coach of the Year; Boitumelo Rabale (Sundowns Ladies) – Player of the Year and Katlego Moletsane (Bloemfontein Celtic Ladies) – Goalkeeper of the Year.
The 2023 Hollywoodbets Super League season is expected to resume next month.
By Matlhomola Morake
