Dazzling Tholakele makes firm statement
Kabelo Boranabi | Saturday July 30, 2022 06:00
Clubs abroad, like sharks, are circling for Tholakele's signature.
The striker put on eye-catching performances at the just-ended 2022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) and it is only a matter of time before she leaves the country's shores. It has been a long journey for the mesmerising striker.
At just the age of five, Tholakele had already started to kick the football. She was the only girl in the team and both her teammates and opponents were boys. It was until 2007 that Tholakele started to play competitive football when she was only a Standard Four pupil.
Three years later, as a 13-year-old, Tholakele was called up to the national Under-17 girls' squad where she was one of the youngest players in camp. “That is where I got the nickname ‘Seven’. The name was given to me by coach Jackie (Jacqueline Gaobinelwe) at the U-17s.
I was doing Standard Seven and liked the jersey number seven, so she is the one who started calling me Seven,” Tholakele said. With the national team call-up, Seven’s path to greatness was paved.
Recruiters were impressed by the player’s pace, power, and eye for goal and it did not take long until Meat Girls came knocking. The team was then playing in the Super League and Tholakele made her league debut as a primary school pupil.
She was then used on the right wing due to her electrifying pace. Tholakele moved to then Super League giants, Township Rollers in 2014, a team where she rose to become a household name in women’s football at just 18. “It was that moment when I realised my potential in playing football and I knew this was what I wanted to make a career out of,” Tholakele said. She won three Super League titles and was once voted the Player of the Season.
Seven captained the U-20 national team before graduating to the senior team, the Mares in 2017.
The Rollers forward topped the WAFCON 2022 squad ratings. She scored a brace and an assist in the Mares’ opening match against Burundi. Tholakele was the Mares’ joint leading scorer in the team's historic journey at the WAFCON finals, but she feels like she could have done much better. “It is a tournament where I learnt a lot although it was not easy. I feel what I have learnt in Morocco will help me become a better player.
Yes, I might have scored goals there but I feel it was not enough; I could have done better. Going forward I will try to do more,” Tholakele. Now at the age of 26, Tholakele is looking for a move abroad. She is not short of suitors after dishing out impressive performances in Morocco. A good number of clubs in Nigeria, Morocco, South Africa, Tanzania, and Turkey are said to be looking to land the player. Nigeria’s seven-time league champions, Rivers Angels are said to be leading the race for her signature.
The striker has outlined her ambitions of playing professionally but she is taking her time to decide her future. “I am very happy and proud of myself and I thank God for this talent. I really want to play abroad and I want to be an example and create a good picture for upcoming players. Yes, a lot of teams from different countries are interested but I cannot say much on that yet.
At the moment I am still deciding.”
FACT FILE
Full Names: Refilwe Tebogo Tholakele
Date of birth: January 26, 1996
Place of birth: Gaborone
Home village: Kgari (northeast of Botswana)
Club: Township Rollers
Position: Forward (Striker, winger)
Favourite players: Sedilame Bosija, Segolame Boy