Vhahangwele Nembaleni, a female soccer referee from Itsani, is fast growing into a prominent figure as she continues to endear herself to local soccer lovers.
The love of football of the 32-year-old mother of two (a son and a girl) began when she started playing for the local ladies' soccer team, Shayandima Morning Stars, under the Safa Sasol Women League in 2009.
Nembaleni says her dream came true when she was recruited by PSL referee Khamusi Razwimisani and former referee and match commissioner Rudzani Mulaudzi after she quit the team in 2013. "I took the bull by the horns and told myself that it was the correct time to realise my potential."
The young woman was sent to the inter-regional ladies' soccer tournament in 2014, where she made a deep impression on the match commissioners. Upon her arrival back home, she was taken for fitness tests in Polokwane, and passed.
Apart from her being on the panel for the SAB League as a referee, Nembaleni is also a panel member of the Safa ABC Motsepe Promotional League (female category). She has been promoted to PSL, CAF, assistant referee.
In 2018, she went to Cameroon, where she assisted in the CAF U/20 women's match between Cameroon and Algeria, and in 2019 she went to assist in the U/17 women's match in Uganda (Uganda vs Nigeria). When she came back from Uganda, she got injured during the PSL fitness physical and decided to take a break.
Nembaleni recalls the first ABC Motsepe league match where she officiated between the Dolphins and the Winners. "Fortunately, the game went very smoothly and ended 2-0 in favour of the Dolphins. After the match, many people questioned why I was there as referee. Others stood up for me and said, 'Look at her decisions. She knows what she's doing.'"
She says that she is happy that men do not look down on her when she is in control of the games. "I make sure that I adhere to all the rules and this makes me respectable on the soccer pitch. The fact that I'm a woman has nothing to do with my authority on the pitch, and I'm proud that I have never been assaulted throughout my career."