“Not just a spectator”: Sinethemba Mbatha goes from Estcourt to the world

From Estcourt, a small-town Northwest of Durban, to making history with the golden girls of South Africa, Banyana Banyana!

Banyana Banyana made history by claiming the Women's African Cup of Nations title and reaching the FIFA Women’s World Cup Round of 16 for the first time. Sinethemba Mbatha has proven to the world she is more than a spectator and is part of the women in sport movement.

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Raised in a home with parents who were an educator and a police officer, Sinethemba spent little time playing in the streets and most of her time with her dad, who she shares her love and passion for football with.

“We were never allowed to go anywhere except to the stadium with my dad. I feel like that was his way of bonding with me and my brother, so we would go to the stadium,” Sinethemba said.

This is where she realised her dream of someday working for a football team.

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"Every time I went to the stadium, at such a young age, I always said to my dad, 'I’m more than a spectator'.

“Funny enough, he always remembers those conversations because he says I would see maybe Carol Shabalala on the pitch and I would say, 'yeah, that's going to be me. That's going to be me on the pitch'."

Starting out as a student in the medical field at the University of Free State, Sinethemba soon found herself as a writer for a football publication and writing about the thing she adores most.

She’s gone from being a finalist in the SABC Sport and Supersport Presenter Search competitions to presenting alongside sportscaster Andile Ngcube during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Fast forward to today, Sine, as she is affectionately known, has played such an integral role in the success and growth of WAFCON Champions, Banyana Banyana.

Sine and her team have helped write and deliver the story of our history makers to the world.

“I'm so grateful that I was chosen to be part of this team and to be tasked with putting the team out there, making sure that people know about the team.”

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