Leading football referee Akhona Makalima, passionate football supporter Mamello Makha and athlete turned administrator, Kesa Molotsane have been shortlisted for gsport Style Star of the Year at the 2021 Momentum gsport Awards.
Makalima has been making notable strides in the football industry across the African continent. Alongside her consistent hard work on the field, she has celebrated being a woman and her stylish approach off the field, has caught the public’s eye. From the football pitch to the red carpet, Makalima shows that she can hold her own.
Makalima is ecstatic about being a #gsport16 Style Star finalist: “I am really excited and it’s a great honour for me to be a finalist. Growing up I always enjoyed dressing up and when my passion for sport grew bigger I wondered if the two could even co-exist. Thank you to the Momentum gsport Awards for celebrating women who are multi-faceted, for making me feel like it’s okay to look good while performing our sporting duties and for even creating an entire award to honour stylish women in sport, this means the world to me. To be recognized as someone who contributes to uplifting the names of women in sport and to be celebrated as one who does so in style means I am living a dream.”
On some of the moments that made her year memorable, Makalima had this to say: “Last year I was selected to be one of the referees for the under 20 men’s tournament in Mauritania and I was the only female referee. I didn’t only want to showcase my hard work and resilience in the field, but I wanted every woman watching the tournament to feel well represented just by looking at me. I think ever since I saw women like Lindiwe Dube, Minnie Dlamini, Zanele Mdodana and Zinhle Ndawonde winning this award, I realized that looking good on the pitch can have rewards and I will always put my best foot forward when it comes to tha.t”
It is hard to mention names of stylish women in sport without acknowledging Proudly South African football supporter, Mamello Makha. Makha always wows her social media followers and fellow football fans with her flamboyant outfits, be it sport regalia or on the red carpet. Her bigger than life fashion sense has been featured in various fashion magazines. Makha also did a sport advert on SABC as the fashionable fan of the year.
On being a finalist at the 2021 Momentum gsport Awards, this is what Makha had to say: “I have always believed that football is more than team t-shirts and dramatic hats. I always make sure that I incorporate my favourite team colors in my everyday outfits, I love sport and will always rally behind women in sport but it’s also important that I represent them while looking good.
“There has always been a perception that women who love sport dress a specific way and I hope everyone can look at every woman shortlisted in this category and see women who are passionate about sport and also about how they look while raising the flag high, I am so thankful that the Momentum gsport Awards exist to celebrate us and other women whose work in sport changes lives.”
When we talk of versatility both as an athlete and an individual, the name Kesa Molotsane comes to mind. Undoubtedly one of the most stylish South African women in sport, Molotsane, who is also shortlisted for the Telkom Woman of the Year award, shows up and definitely puts on a show, whether on the track or any other occasion. Her classy nature is always displayed, be it in sportswear, casual, semi-formal and formal clothing.
Being named as a finalist for this category left this former Public Choice Award winner speechless. “I am so speechless! Me, Kesa Molotsane named among such a group of great and amazing women in sport? This is such an honour. I feel so blessed and privileged to have someone nominate me because they love what I contribute to the industry.
“In the past year I was nominated as vice chancellor for Athletics South Africa’s athletes commission, and I was also nominated as an assessor for the USSA NEC and in both occasions I showed up knowing that I don’t only represent myself but a group of women who might never get an opportunity to enter the rooms I occupy. Being a #gsport16 finalist is inspiring and I’m glad that such milestones are celebrated so that more young women can aspire and work towards occupying the same spaces. The Momentum gsport Awards are literally the benchmark for greatness when it comes to what women in sport can achieve and I can’t believe my name is within that list.”
You can catch the latest women’s sport news in the Momentum powered gsport newsroom and register a free membership at the gsport website to cast your vote for your leading woman in sport here.
Photo Caption: gsport Founder Kass Naidoo congratulates the 2020 Style Star of the Year Award winner, Zinhle Ndawonde (right), on 31 August, 2021. Photo: Sharon Seretlo / gsport
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