Thembi Kgatlana

Thembi Kgatlana

Kgatlana with Racing Louisville FC in 2023
Personal information
Full name	Chrestinah Thembi Kgatlana [1]
Date of birth	(1996-05-02) 2 May 1996 (age 28)
Place of birth	Mohlakeng, South Africa [2]
Height	1.56 m (5 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Tigres UANL
Number	16
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
	Univ. of the Western Cape
2018	Houston Dash	16	(2)
2019	Beijing BG Phoenix	10	(6)
2020	Benfica	2	(3)
2020–2021	Eibar	27	(10)
2021–2022	Atlético Madrid	25	(6)
2022–2023	Racing Louisville	18	(2)
2024–	Tigres UANL	39	(14)
International career‡
2014–	South Africa	83	(32)
Medal record Representing   South Africa Women's Africa Cup of Nations 2018 Ghana 2022 Morocco
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18 November 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 5 November 2024

Chrestinah Thembi Kgatlana (born 2 May 1996) is a South African professional soccer player who plays as a forward for Liga MX Femenil club Tigres UANL Femenil and the South Africa women's national team. ^[3]

Club career

Houston Dash

In February 2018, Kgatlana moved to the United States to join the Houston Dash in the National Women's Soccer League. She was brought in by her former national team coach Vera Pauw. Kgatlana joined her South African teammates Janine van Wyk and Linda Motlhalo in Houston. ^[4] Kgatlana made 16 appearances with Houston and she scored 2 goals. ^[5]

Kgatlana was waived by the Houston Dash on 6 February 2019 so she could sign with Beijing BG Phoenix F.C. ^[6]

Beijing BG Phoenix

On 22 February 2019, Kgatlana was announced as having signed with Beijing BG Phoenix F.C. in the Chinese Women's Super League on a one-year deal. She was joined by South African teammate Linda Motlhalo who also made the move from Houston to China. ^[7]

Kgatlana scored six league goals in 10 appearances during the 2019 Chinese Women's Super League campaign, helping her Beijing BG Phoenix side to a fifth-place finish.

SL Benfica

On 27 January 2020 she signed with SL Benfica. ^[8] On 1 February 2020 she made her debut with the club being subbed on in a 3–1 win over Braga in Taça da Liga Feminina. ^[9]

Prior to their cancellation owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kgatlana helped Benfica to the final of both Portuguese Cup and Taca da Liga Femenina competitions as well as the top of the league table. The result was enough to qualify the club for the UEFA Women's Champions League for the first time in their history.

SD Eibar

Kgatlana's spell at Benfica came to an early end owing to complications arising from the COVID-19 crisis, with a salary cap introduced across Portuguese women's football. On 21 July 2020, it was announced that she had joined newly promoted Spanish Primera División side SD Eibar on a one-year contract. ^[10] Kgatlana made her debut on 4 October 2020 in a 1–0 victory over Real Betis, before opening her goalscoring account the following week in a 2–2 draw against Levante. ^[11]

On 31 October 2020, Kgatlana scored her second goal for the club on her first start in a 1–0 victory over Espanyol, however she was forced off with the game still in the first half due to a minor injury. ^[12] Upon her return from injury, she immediately returned to goalscoring form with a stunning strike in a 3–1 defeat to Real Madrid having once again entered from the substitutes bench.

Racing Louisville

NWSL club Racing Louisville paid a transfer fee to obtain Kgatlana on 6 July 2022. She signed a two-year contract with a club option for the 2024 season. ^[13] However, she missed the 2022 season after tearing her Achilles tendon against Botswana in the 2022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations. She debuted for Racing on 6 May against Orlando Pride, ^[14] her first match since tearing her Achilles tendon in 2022. ^[15] On 12 May, joining the match as an 81st-minute substitute, she assisted on Racing's third goal of the match. ^[14]

Tigres UANL

On 20 December 2023, Racing Louisville FC agreed to transfer Kgatlana to Tigres UANL for the second largest transfer fee in league history of $275,000. ^{[16] [17]}

International career

Kgatlana with South Africa in 2018

Kgatlana represented her country at the 2016 Summer Olympics ^[18] and the 2018 Africa Women Cup of Nations, where she won the Player of the Tournament and was the highest goal scorer. ^[19] She also represented South Africa at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup in France, where she scored her country's first goal ever in the tournament. On 2 August 2023, she scored the winning goal in a 3–2 victory over Italy in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup last group stage match, to be her country's first ever win in the competition which led to their qualification to the knockout phase. ^[20]

International goals

Scores and results list South Africa's goal tally first

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	10 November 2016	Barbourfields Stadium, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe	Zimbabwe	1–0	3–0	Friendly
2				2–0
3	14 September 2017	Luveve Stadium, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe	Lesotho	3–0	3–0	2017 COSAFA Women's Championship
4	15 September 2017	Barbourfields Stadium, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe	Namibia	1–0	3–1
5				3–1
6	24 September 2017		Zimbabwe	1–0	2–1
7	2 March 2018	Tasos Markos Stadium, Paralimni, Cyprus	Hungary	1–0	1–0	2018 Cyprus Cup
8	10 October 2018	Estadio Santa Laura, Santiago, Chile	Chile	2–1	2–2	Friendly
10	18 November 2018	Cape Coast Sports Stadium, Cape Coast, Ghana	Nigeria	1–0	1–0	2018 Africa Women Cup of Nations
11	21 November 2018		Equatorial Guinea	4–1	7–1
12				5–1
13	24 November 2018	Accra Sports Stadium, Accra, Ghana	Zambia	1–0	1–1
14	27 November 2018	Cape Coast Sports Stadium, Cape Coast, Ghana	Mali	1–0	2–0
15	19 January 2019	Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town, South Africa	Netherlands	1–2	1–2	Friendly
16	19 January 2019	GSZ Stadium, Larnaca, Cyprus	Finland	2–2	2–2	2019 Cyprus Women's Cup
17	8 June 2019	Stade Océane, Le Havre, France	Spain	1–0	1–3	2019 FIFA Women's World Cup
18	10 April 2021	Bidvest Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa	Zambia	2–0	3–0	Friendly
19	13 April 2021		Botswana	1–0	2–0
20	13 April 2021	Onikan Stadium, Lagos, Nigeria	Ghana	2–0	3–0	Aisha Buhari Cup
21	18 February 2022	Orlando Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa	Algeria	2–0	2–0	2022 Africa Women Cup of Nations qualification
22	12 April 2022	ADO Den Haag Stadium, The Hague, Netherlands	Netherlands	1–1	1–5	Friendly
23	28 July 2023	Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin, New Zealand	Argentina	2–0	2–2	2023 FIFA Women's World Cup
24	2 August 2023	Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington, New Zealand	Italy	3–2	3–2
25	25 October 2023	Stade des Martyrs, Kinshasa, DR Congo	DR Congo	1–1	1–1	2024 CAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament
26	30 October 2023	Orlando Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa	DR Congo	1–0	2–0
27				2–0
28	23 February 2024	Chamazi Stadium, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania	Tanzania	2–0	3–0
29	27 February 2024	Mbombela Stadium, Mbombela, South Africa	Tanzania	1–0	1–0
30	29 October 2024	Coventry Building Society Arena, Coventry, United Kingdom	England	1–2	1–2	Friendly

Career statistics

Club

As of 26 February 2025

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Houston Dash	2018	National Women's Soccer League	16	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	16	2
Beijing BG Phoenix	2019	Chinese Women's Super League	10	6	1	1	4	2	0	0	16	9
SL Benfica	2019–20	Campeonato Nacional Feminino	1	0	1	1	2	2	0	0	4	3
SD Eibar	2020–21	Primera División	21	10	0	0	0	0	0	0	21	10
Atletico de Madrid	2021–22	Primera División	25	6	1	0	0	0	0	0	26	6
Racing Louisville FC	2023	National Women's Soccer League	18	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	19	2
UANL Tigres	2023-24	Liga MX Femenil	20	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	20	7
	2024-25		30	12	0	0	3	2	4	2	37	16
	Total		50	19	0	0	3	2	4	2	57	23
Career total			141	45	4	2	9	6	4	2	158	55

Personal life

On 5 December 2023, Kgatlana proposed to long-time girlfriend Abongile Dlani. ^[21]

Honours

Benfica

• Taça da Liga: 2019–20

UANL Tigres

• Liga MX Femenil: Campeon de Campeones 2023-24

International

• Women's Africa Cup of Nations: 2022, ^[22] runner-up: 2018
• COSAFA Women's Championship: 2017 ^[23]

Individual

• CAF African Women's Footballer of the Year 2018 ^[24]
• CAF African Goal of the Year: 2018 ^[24]
• CAF Africa Women Cup of Nations Best Player: 2018
• CAF Africa Women Cup of Nations Top Scorer: 2018
• Cyprus Cup Best player 2018
• COSAFA Women's Championship Player of the Tournament: 2017 ^[23]

References

1. "FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019 – List of Players: South Africa" (PDF). FIFA . 27 May 2019. p. 20. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 May 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
2. Import, Pongrass (18 January 2019). "Africa's female soccer star is from Mohlakeng". Randfontein Herald. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
3. Thembi Kgatlana at Soccerway
4. "Banyana star Thembi Kgatlana signs for Houston Dash". Independent Online (South Africa). 21 February 2018. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
5. "T.KGATLANA" . Retrieved 19 March 2019.
6. "Houston Dash waive Banyana duo Thembi Kgatlana and Linda Motlhalo". 6 February 2019. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
7. Dylan (23 February 2019). "Kgatlana signs for Chinese club". FourFourTwo. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
8. "Chrestinah Thembi Kgatlana contratada". www.slbenfica.pt (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2 February 2020.
9. "Deram a volta com muita pinta". www.slbenfica.pt (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2 February 2020.
10. "Thembi moves to Spain". SAFA. 21 July 2020. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
11. "Kgatlana rescues Eibar with maiden Spanish Iberdrola goal against Levante". Goal . Retrieved 21 November 2020.
12. "Kgatlana the herione on full debut as Eibar stun Espanyol". Goal . Retrieved 21 November 2020.
13. "Racing signs Kgatlana on transfer from Atlético Madrid" (Press release). Racing Louisville FC. 6 July 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
14. Mollo, Tlotlisang (13 May 2023). "Banyana star makes impressive home debut for new side". FARPost. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
15. Oludare, Shina (11 July 2022). "South Africa dealt blow as Kgatlana ruled out of Wafcon with ruptured Achilles tendon". Goal US . Retrieved 17 May 2023.
16. Gutierrez, Jackie. "Thembi Kgatlana To Tigres Marks Second-Highest Transfer Fee In NWSL". Forbes. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
17. Morgan, Becky (20 December 2023). "Thembi Kgatlana transferred to Tigres; Louisville receives $275,000 transfer fee". Equalizer Soccer. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
18. "Athletes – Famous Olympic Athletes, Medalists, Sports Heroes". 24 September 2018. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
19. Sixaba, Philasande. "Banyana's Thembi Kgatlana named player of the tournament". ewn.co.za.
20. "South Africa 3–2 Italy". BBC Sport. 2 August 2023.
21. "Kgatlana goes down on one knee, proposes to girlfriend Abongile Dlani, video". sportsbrief.com. Retrieved 21 December 2023.^{[ permanent dead link ‍]}
22. "Magaia brace hands South Africa first TotalEnergies WAFCON trophy". CAF. 29 June 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
23. "2017 COSAFA Women's Championship – Day Nine Review – Final". 24 September 2017. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
24. "Aiteo CAF Awards 2018: Winners". CAF. 8 January 2019. Archived from the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 8 June 2021.

External links

• Thembi Kgatlana at Soccerway.com
• Thembi Kgatlana at WorldFootball.net
• Thembi Kgatlana at kicker (in German)
• Thembi Kgatlana at FBref.com
• Thembi Kgatlana at ESPN FC
• Thembi Kgatlana at Liga MX Femenil ( archive ) (in Spanish)
• Profile at Confederation of African Football (CAF)