Letago Madiba
Letago of ALG Spor in the 2019–20 Turkish Women's First League.
Personal information
Date of birth (1991-07-15) 15 July 1991 (age 32)
Place of birth Arthur's Seat, Bushbuckridge,
Mpumalanga, South Africa
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Fatih Vatan Spor
Number 91
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2018 TUT Ladies 54 (82)
2019 Minsk 4 (2)
2019–2020 ALG Spor 14 (11)
2020– Fatih Vatan Spor 41 (11)
International career
2014–2019 South Africa
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 5 february 2023

Letago Madiba (born 15 July 1991) is a South African soccer player who plays as a forward for Fatih Vatan Spor in the Turkish Women's Super League.[1] She has been a member of the South Africa women's national team.[2]

Private life

Letago Madiba was born at Arthur's Seat of Bushbuckridge town in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa on 15 July 1991,[1][3][4] into a family with four elder brothers.[5]

She graduated from Lekete High School in Arthur's Seat, Bushbuckridge,[4] and holds a BTech degree in Sport and Exercise science from Tshwane University of Technology. She graduated with a Master's degree in Organisational leadership in 2021.[6]

Early career

Madiba started playing football already at the age of five in the streets of Arthur's Seat.[7] Her brother Karabo, who would become a professional footballer, taught her the basics and skills. From a young age, she played with boys in the community, and became the only female football player in school.[5]

Club career

In her early career, she was a defender.[8] She played for the South African Tshwane University of Technology's team TUT Ladies in the SAFA Sasol Women's League.[7][9] She capped for South Africa 54 times in the 2016–17 and 2017–18 seasons,[7][9] scoring a total of 82 goals. In addition, she netted 31 goals in various tournaments for the university team. Overall, she appeared in 75 games in the Sasol League, and scored a total of 103 goals,[7] winning the championship in 2017–18. She won also the University Sports South Africa (USSA) Football National Club Championship and the ABSA Women's Championship.[3][4]

In 2018, although she decided to retire from football to seek permanent employment, her team coach Tebogo Mokae convinced her to finish the season.[5][10] In February 2019, she got a chance to go to Spain, where she trained for a month with two clubs, which helped renew her confidence in a football career.[10]

The assistant coach of TUT Ladies, Nadia Kroll, offered her a contract to play in Belarus. Madiba had to decide within three days, as the Belarusian club was in preparation for a major European tournament. Her childhood dream of playing overseas came through when she took that chance.[10] In July 2019, she moved to Belarus, and joined ZFK Minsk two weeks before their participation at the 2019–20 UEFA Women's Champions League qualifying round.[2][7][11] She played in two of the three qualification matches, and scored one goal.[3][12][13][14]

Arranged by her manager Kroll, she went to Turkey in October 2019, and signed a contract to play as a forward with ALG Spor,[3][7][15][16] a club in Gaziantep, who had just been promoted to the Women's First League at the end of the 2017–18 season.[5] She scored eleven goals in 14 matches of the 2019-20 Turkish Women's First Football League season,[1] before it was discontinued due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey.[6][17] Her team was entitled to represent Turkey at the 2020–21 UEFA Women's Champions League, as the top-ranking team, when the league was stopped.[5][17]

In the 2020–21 Turkcell Women's League, she transferred to Fatih Vatan Spor in Istanbul.[18]

International career

In April 2014, Madiba was admitted to the South Africa women's national team, nicknamed "Banyana Banyana", to play in a friendly match against Zimbabwe,[8] During a national team camp just before the 2014 African Women's Championship, she tore her ACL, LCL, and meniscus. She underwent two surgeries, knocking her out of action for 14 months.[5][6][7]

She was called up to the national team for the 2017 COSAFA Women's Championship – Group C matches,[19] but only played in a handful of matches.[2][7][16]

Career statistics

As of 5 February 2023
Club Season League Continental National Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
ALG Spor 2019–20 First League 14 11 – – 0 0 14 11
Total 14 11 – – 0 0 14 11
Fatih Vatan Spor 2020–21 First League 6 1 – – 0 0 6 1
2021–22 Super League 22 8 – – 0 0 22 8
2022–23 Super League 13 2 – – 0 0 13 2
Total 41 11 – – 0 0 41 11

Honours

ZFK Minsk
Belarusian Premier League
2019
Belarusian Women's Cup
2019
Turkish Women's First League
Fatih Vatan Spor
Runners-up (1): 2020–21

References

  1. ^ a b c "Oyuncular – Futbolcular: Letago Madibaa" (in Turkish). Türkiye Futbol Federasyonu. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  2. ^ a b c Ahmadu, Samuel (23 July 2019). "Rachel Sebati and Letago Madiba join Belarusian champions Minsk". Goal. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d "South African Duo Flying the Flag High in Europe". G Sport. 28 December 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  4. ^ a b c "Personal Profile Letago Madiba". Varsity Sports SA. 16 August 2013. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Abrahams, Celine (15 July 2020). "Letago Madiba Continues to Dominate on the European Stage". G Sport. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  6. ^ a b c "Mpumalanga soccer star shines bright in Europe". Lowvelder. 25 July 2020. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Mokhesi, Tokelo Martin (3 February 2020). "SA duo Madiba and Sebati sets Turkey alight". FARPost. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  8. ^ a b "South Africa: Letago Madiba Ready to Shine for Sasol Banyana Banyana". AllAfrica. 11 April 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  9. ^ a b "#TuksFootball: Tuks go down to TUT by 4–2". Tuks Football. 15 September 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  10. ^ a b c Mkhonza, Mthokozisi (24 July 2019). "UEFA:Here Comes SA^s Soccer Stars". Daily Sun. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  11. ^ "More SA women footballers plying their trade abroad". SABC. 19 March 2020. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  12. ^ "ЖФК "Мінськ" прибув до Харкова(+ВІДЕО)". fczh1.com (in Belarusian). 5 August 2019. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  13. ^ "Qualifying round – Group 4 – Minsk (BLR) 12–0 Bettembourg (LUX)". UEFA. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  14. ^ "Qualifying round – Group 4 – Minsk (BLR) 2–1 Split (CRO)". UEFA. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  15. ^ "ALG Spor'dan rakiplerine gözdağı". TRT Spor (in Turkish). 20 September 2019. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  16. ^ a b "Banyana star delighted with Spain move". COSAFA. 14 July 2020. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  17. ^ a b "2019–2020 Sezonu Kadın Ligleri Yönetim Kurulu Kararı" (in Turkish). Türkiye Futbol Federasyonu. 13 July 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  18. ^ "Sebati and Madiba help Fatih Vatanspor to Turkish Kadinlar Ligi semi-final". Goal. 1 May 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  19. ^ "TUT ladies to defend their title". Varsity Sports SA. 6 September 2017. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
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