29 October 2024 – The 2024 COSAFA Women’s Championship has seen several players put their hands up and signal their readiness to challenge for places in the South African senior women’s national team setup.
These players have blazed a trail during the group stages of the regional tournament in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape, and it is through these outstanding performances that the youthful COSAFA Banyana Banyana side coached by Maud Khumalo is in the semifinals of the Women’s Championship. They scored 12 goals (1-0 vs Namibia, 3-0 vs Eswatini and 8-1 vs Seychelles) and only conceded one (against Seychelles) in the group stages.
Ayesha Moosa is one of those players and she has quietly gone about her business, contributing to a team that has seemed to get better with each passing game. The midfielder from the University of Johannesburg Ladies, who has scored two goals in two matches during the group stages, told www.safa.net she felt very honored when he was asked to represent her country at the regional tournament this year.
“It’s always an honor to represent the country, so every time I do receive a call-up, I am honored and want to give my best,” she said.
Moosa said she was born into a football-loving family, and it was always written in the stars that she would have more than a passing interest in the sport.
“I was born into a family that loves football. I am the youngest in my family and I only have brothers. They only ever played football, so I was always just tailing behind them in everything they did, and I eventually happened to fall into the soccer trap as well”.
The game can be unpredictable at times like everything else in life and Moosa said she has always kept an open mind about the great unknown.
“With everything there are challenges. Sometimes it’s on getting game time, sometimes you as players make mistakes in the game and you just need to be mature enough to recognise these mistakes. You have to recognize where things are happening and work on them, take feedback, take criticism and use it to make yourself better. It is not always a bad thing, so just mentally and psychologically challenge yourself to be better”.
Like many other footballers, the midfielder has to find a balance between her studies and the game she loves.
“It’s not easy trying to balance everything, it is really not easy. Sometimes you just put things aside, but it does catch up with you. I think once you get the balance right, it’s not bad and you just need to meet your deadlines. That’s all”.
Moosa’s family members, especially her mother, are her biggest fans and they make time to attend her matches. “My mom is at every game, she’s always there, so I think she’s been my biggest support system.”
South Africa will face Mozambique in the semifinals on Thursday, 31 October 2024 at Wolfson Stadium, Gqeberha, and Moosa will get another chance to show what she is made of if she is selected in the team. Kickoff is at 15h00.
Malawi will play against Zambia in the other semifinal at Wolfson Stadium on the same day at 12h00.
