Anastasia Tsichlas and Ria Ledwaba’s names are synonymous with football in South Africa. The two are seen as female powerhouses and adored by fans and players alike—both were owners of hugely successful Premier Soccer League (PSL) teams.
Tsichlas and Ledwaba have made names for themselves in the male-dominated football world, but women are still underrepresented in all areas of the sport. Even the South African Football Association (Safa) is lacking on this front—most of its senior management is male.
“We want to see transformation. As the first woman to have made it in football, I felt one of my responsibilities [apart from developing soccer abilities], was to develop other women,” says Tsichlas.
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It’s not been an easy road, says Ledwaba. Being a woman involved in football meant treading a difficult path with few mentors and little sponsorship.
“Finance plays a big role in running a successful team. When I entered soccer, I entered it because that was my heart’s true calling. The environment was hostile, but I persevered because I was determined to get the best for the players and to get my team promoted to the Premier Soccer League,” says Ledwaba.
Tsichlas, the first woman in Africa to be elected to Fifa, owned Mamelodi Sundowns before it was taken over by mining magnate Patrice Motsepe and Ledwaba owned Ria Stars.
“The dream of Ria Stars was realized. My team played in the PSL for two seasons but due to lack of sponsorship I could no longer manage to run the team successfully. I’m still involved in football through the commercial committee at Safa and the Safa Women’s Soccer Committee,” says Ledwaba.
Transformation is a word both use often. Ledwaba was recently appointed deputy chairperson of the Transformation Commission set up by Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula.
Tsichlas was the general manager of Sundowns at a time when most scoffed at the mere idea of a woman holding such a position. Her strategy there was to employ women in strategic positions as a way to address the gender imbalance.
“I like to develop women not only in the sport but also in jobs with responsibilities,” she says.
Sundowns was the best team from 1990 to 2000. Tsichlas recalls endless days in the townships during the stormy 1980s—“the glory days of football,” she says.
“The power of football is tremendous. It is unbelievable how it can bring people together,” says Tsichlas.
Today, South African football is a shadow of its former self. Tsichlas says the problem lies in a lack of development and the absence of big stars.
“Big stars come from development, from the townships. We need to develop players. We can’t keep buying the best players. I’d rather have a player who came through my structures and loved the club, a player with a real hunger to play. These are players who have soccer in their hearts and not in their pockets,” says Tsichlas.
Ledwaba says the country has world-class facilities, but development lags.
“Transformation is required in most schools. Soccer needs to be part of every primary and high school sport curriculum,” she says.
It’s a sentiment Tsichlas echoes.
How then does South Africa get back into the game?
“With the proper technical and administration, we’ll get back into it. We also need to learn to build from the bottom up,” says Ledwaba.
Tsichlas, who has earned the moniker ‘The Iron Lady’, is more forthright and places the blame on too much politics in football.
“It can be done if we all speak the same language. We have the resources—money through sponsors—and the ability. But we don’t have unity because there is a lot of politics in our football, that is why we keep failing as a football nation. We blame the coaches and the players but we don’t look in the mirror at ourselves, as administrators. It starts at the top and trickles down to the clubs. We have to unite football like years ago when we were the top team in Africa,” she says.
Women’s football on the other hand, seems to be in better state. Banyana Banyana qualified to play at the Olympics.
“But with women’s soccer, the marketing of the national team needs to improve and we need to fill the stadiums when they play,” says Ledwaba.
Unlike their male counterparts, women footballers do not earn salaries but rather bonuses as they are not seen as professional players. Tsichlas believes a women’s section in the PSL is key in developing women’s football.
Ledwaba’s exit from Ria Stars was fuelled by big companies’ tendency to support the big teams.
“But the PSL teams now get a sizeable monthly allowance from PSL so every team is on an equal footing,” she says.
Still, Ledwaba has no regrets.
“My dream was realized—I succeeded against all odds. No regrets, just plenty of lessons. I learnt my limits and I got to understand the dynamics of a male-dominated industry,” says Ledwaba.
Tsichlas has several football feathers in her cap. She is the first woman elected to the National Soccer League (NSL)/PSL executive, as well as the first woman to be elected to the executive committee of Safa. She is also the first South African woman representative on the Confederation of African Football.

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