Mathematics teacher’s club to bridge women’s football
Lesedi Mkhutshwa | Saturday December 17, 2022 06:00
Thubu established Flying Girls Football Club in 2016 to assist women footballers to develop professionally and build their capacity.
The club is currently among the 16 women's football teams under the Francistown Regional Football Association (FRAFA). Thubu told Mmegi Sport that the idea was to address the issue of gender inequality in the sporting code.
He said he realised that a lot of women football players are talented at the grass-root level and when they finish their Form 3, they tend to abandon the sport because there is no advancement in their career. “Only a few secondary schools have female football teams and even in the general communities it is hard to find a women's football team,” he added. In doing so, the 34-year-old believes that the establishment of the club will increase the number of women that play professional football in the country.
The Flying Girls Football Club owner said that the team plays a critical role in the advancement and improvement of the players' sporting level. It currently has 44 players who were recruited from villages such as Nshakashogwe, Sebina, Marobela and surrounding areas.
Thubu indicated that he divided the club and introduced the Under-12 team because football is a short career for women as most of them leave the profession at the age of 30 years.
“One thing I have realised is that female football players become too busy with their families when they reach 30 years and the best way is to introduce them at the grass-root level,” he added. Speaking about the team's participation in the local women’s championship, he said that the Flying Girls took position four with 50 points.
Francistown United were crowned the winner of the FRAFA 2021-2022 season with 61 points. Some of their team achievements include having six players on both the national Under-17 and Under-20 teams respectively. He aims to produce at least four players who will form part of the national women’s team, the Mares in a few years to come.
Thubu also intends to build a team that will be regarded as one of the best in the country and compete in the women's football championship so that they can stand a chance to be selected for the CAF games.
Flying Girls Football Club is currently under the tutelage of head coach, Gadzanani Bopa who is a BFA C licence holder. Thubu acts as a technical advisor with a CAF C licence attained in 2021 and has preliminary coaching and premier skills under his belt.