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]
.jpg) Letago of ALG Spor in the 2019–20 Turkish Women's First League. | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 15 July 1991 | ||
| 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 | |||
Private life
editLetago 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
editMadiba 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
editIn 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
editIn 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
edit- 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
edit- 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
edit- ^ a b c "Oyuncular – Futbolcular: Letago Madibaa" (in Turkish). Türkiye Futbol Federasyonu. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
- ^ a b c Ahmadu, Samuel (23 July 2019). "Rachel Sebati and Letago Madiba join Belarusian champions Minsk". Goal. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
- ^ a b c d "South African Duo Flying the Flag High in Europe". G Sport. 28 December 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
- ^ a b c "Personal Profile Letago Madiba". Varsity Sports SA. 16 August 2013. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b c "Mpumalanga soccer star shines bright in Europe". Lowvelder. 25 July 2020. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b "South Africa: Letago Madiba Ready to Shine for Sasol Banyana Banyana". AllAfrica. 11 April 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
- ^ a b "#TuksFootball: Tuks go down to TUT by 4–2". Tuks Football. 15 September 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
- ^ a b c Mkhonza, Mthokozisi (24 July 2019). "UEFA:Here Comes SA^s Soccer Stars". Daily Sun. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
- ^ "More SA women footballers plying their trade abroad". SABC. 19 March 2020. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
- ^ "ЖФК "Мінськ" прибув до Харкова(+ВІДЕО)". fczh1.com (in Belarusian). 5 August 2019. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
- ^ "Qualifying round – Group 4 – Minsk (BLR) 12–0 Bettembourg (LUX)". UEFA. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
- ^ "Qualifying round – Group 4 – Minsk (BLR) 2–1 Split (CRO)". UEFA. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
- ^ "ALG Spor'dan rakiplerine gözdağı". TRT Spor (in Turkish). 20 September 2019. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
- ^ a b "Banyana star delighted with Spain move". COSAFA. 14 July 2020. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
- ^ a b "2019–2020 Sezonu Kadın Ligleri Yönetim Kurulu Kararı" (in Turkish). Türkiye Futbol Federasyonu. 13 July 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
- ^ "Sebati and Madiba help Fatih Vatanspor to Turkish Kadinlar Ligi semi-final". Goal. 1 May 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
- ^ "TUT ladies to defend their title". Varsity Sports SA. 6 September 2017. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
