The South African Football Association (SAFA), announced earlier this month the appointment of Ms Lydia Monyepao as the Association’s new CEO. She is the first female Chief Executive Officer of the SAFA.
Lydia Monyepao holds a Masters in Sports Management from Loughborough University in the UK, obtained during her playing career, a BCom Honours in Accounting (CTA) from the University of KwaZulu-Natal and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of the Witwatersrand. Monyepao has over 20 years of work experience in the financial and sport management industries, serving in the past as a football analyst for the SABC, and Kwese Sport, with a specific focus on women’s soccer. Monyepao is famous in South African soccer circles after her appointment in 2021 as Safa’s chief operations officer. Monyepao is a former women’s national soccer team “Banyana Banyana” player and team manager. She has represented South Africa in soccer and basketball at various international competitions, at student and senior levels, both as a player and team manager.
Lydia Monyepao on the field of play
She is a former deputy director at TuksSport (the University of Pretoria), and she has worked on a part-time basis as an online tutor in the International Sport Management programme at the University of London, with a specific focus on Financial Management in Sports, and assisting with Sports Strategy, Governance and Leadership. Lydia Monyepao takes over the position of CEO from Tebogo Motlanthe who quit the position with immediate effect due to personal reasons. Her first and very important task for the newly appointed 42-year-old is spearheading South Africa’s attempt to win the bid to host the 2027 Women’s World Cup, for which she has the qualification, knowledge and experience for.
Monyepao at a Women in Football Leadership Programme
In her address to the press, she said “It is big shoes that I am filling and I have to hit the ground running. I am capable of hitting the ground running, I will accept the task and take the work forward.” “I am not naïve in terms of what is required for this job. I know the challenges that surround any CEO of the South African Football Association, I am not blind to that.” “But as indicated, no job is easy and you have to take it as it comes and apply what you are good at, and what you are capable of.” “Thank you very much to the president and to the SAFA NEC for having confidence in me and my abilities. My CV will show you in terms of my previous experience and my education, so I believe I am capable of this.”
Lydia Monyepao acknowledged that her historic appointment as the first female to hold the position of CEO of the South African Football Association sets the course for more women to hold leadership positions in sports. “It is a great opportunity for the women coming after me, for me to do well. Women should not be overlooked because of their personal and private situations,” she said.
source: africanshapers.com/ iol.co.za