Hers is a name that many people who followed the formative years of Banyana Banyana will recall with fondness. Khabo Zitha was skilful, fast, creative and lethal in front of goal. As a pioneer of wo- men’s football in the country, nothing pleased her more than watching Banyana advancing to the knockout stage of the recently-ended FIFA Women’s World Cup. She feels particularly proud that together with the likes of Desiree Ellis, Mpumi Nyandeni, Sibongile Khumalo, Fikile Sithole and Joanne Solomons, to mention but a few, they proudly laid the foundation for current crop to pass on the baton to the next generation. In this interview with Soccer Laduma's Thomas Kwenaite, Zitha reveals the challenges they faced, why Kaizer Chiefs should have had a women’s team ages ago and how she felt about a SAFA NEC member’s comments about Banyana on the eve of the global showpiece.
Thomas Kwenaite: Khabza, what were your impressions on Banyana Banyana’s performance at the FIFA Women’s World Cup?
Khabo Zitha: I was truthfully very impressed with their performance. They really put Africa on the map, and I was particularly proud, as a former footballer, to see them raising their hands to indicate to the world that they were not there to add numbers but to compete. In fact, all the African nations did us proud and it was only Zambia that failed to progress, but at least they won their final group match 3-1. Otherwise Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa did well and they showed that if we can get support from philanthropists and businesspeople, it could make sure that women’s football in Africa can grow because there is a lot of latent talent.
