When it comes to reaching new heights Katleho Malebana is certainly flying high. The teenager has joined Hollywoodbets Super League side University of Pretoria (Tuks) for the remainder of the season after making a move from Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies development team.
The 15-year-old has also been selected as a Finalist in the School Sports Star of the Year category at the 2024 Momentum gsport Awards, alongside cricketer Karabo Meso and rower Danelia Price-Hughes.
Unsurprisingly, Malebana has been garnering much interest from all corners as she makes her mark wherever she goes. Her long list of accolades has ensured that she has solidified her place as one of the top youth footballers, not just in South Africa but also on the continent.
Among her accomplishments was being part of the team that represented South Africa for the COSAFA region at the CAF African Schools Football Championship Continental Finals in May. She has also captained the U15 and U20 Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies teams. She also led her side to victory in the Engen Challenge Knockout, and was a finalist in the Orlando Pirates Cup.
Something people might not know is that she was a ball girl during the final of the 2022 Women’s African Cup of Nations, when Banyana Banyana went on to lift the title that year.
Back to matters at hand, Malebana has already been given some game time and says it has helped her pinpoint where she needs to refine a few aspects of her game.
“It gave me a lot of experience because it showed me where to improve. It has helped me because it’s a new league for me, a new style of play … In terms of intensity, I need to improve, so I think those 10/15 minutes made me learn a lot and improve myself as a player.”
New University of Pretoria FC Signing, 15 Year-Old Katleho Malebana
She said she has set objectives that she hopes to achieve as she plays more games.
“The goal I have set for myself is to be able to compete with other teams and improve as a player. I want to see an improvement from the player I was before to the player I am going to be.”
Head coach of Tuks, Maude Khumalo was pleased with what she saw from her new player on her debut outing at the club, saying that Malebana has displayed good skill so far.
“The idea is to give her a feel to be part of the team because she is the youngest, and also to look at her understanding of what is happening on the field. I thought if we scored more goals I wanted to give other players a chance, but I just decided to give her a chance to see if she was going to cope.
“I told her she must be relaxed, she must not panic, and remember the age gap. She is fifteen years old and other players are my age, but she has an understanding of the game. It’s more of her understanding the dynamics of the game because she wants to be more settled but the opponents are coming on strong and she came into the game where the tempo was going higher.
“I am happy with her, she has the understanding, the touches, the movement of the ball,” said Khumalo. “I think going into the next game she will be more confident than she was today.”
Main Photo Caption: Teenage football sensation Katleho Malebana is hoping she can garner more experience as she looks to improve herself as a footballer after making a move from Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies development team to the University of Pretoria for the remainder of the Hollywoodbets Super League. Photo: Steals by SK
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