When 10-year-old Kifuwe “Fifi” Hloaysi used to follow her older brother to soccer practice while growing up in eMaXesibeni (formerly Mount Ayliff) back in the early 1990s, she could not have known it would spark a lifelong passion for the beautiful game.
And though her playing career didn’t last long, she is still involved in the sport more than two decades later. The entrepreneur, fitness guru and mother of three has not only managed to stay relevant in the sport, but she has also carved a career as one of the most uncompromising assistant referees in both the men and women’s game.
She can often be seen running up and down along the touchline during the matches in the Safa-run women’s league popularly known as the Hollywoodbets Super League and sometimes she is usually called upon to officiate in league matches in the ABC Motsepe League.
“My home was not too far from the sports ground where my now late brother Mohlatse, fondly nicknamed Ntsimbi, would go to soccer practice while playing for a team called City Lads. While most girls my age would probably be busy playing with their dolls, I would follow him to practice,” she said.
“My love for the game just grew and grew but because I did not know anything about girls’ soccer, I ended playing with young boys about my age. I could hold my own against them.”
Her brother would later play for Matatiele Professionals, Cosmos and Mthatha Bucks.
However, everything changed in 2006 when she was recruited to play for a girls’ team in KwaBhaca in 2006. Her mother was particularly happy when she heard the news. Fifi said this was because she knew she would spend time focusing on playing instead of chasing after boys or worse, falling pregnant, like many other girls.
In 2008, she was among many promising players who went for trials to be part of a team from the Alfred Nzo district which was meant to represent the district in Sweden.
“I got selected but then I could not go because my aunt died when we were just about to leave. But fortunately, a year later, I got an opportunity to go for selection to Makhanda.
“Interestingly, this was also how my career as a match official started as our team was informed, they had to bring along a female referee. The coach told me straight away I was going there to officiate.”
But after returning home with R600 in her pocket, which she was paid for officiating games, she had no qualms about not taking part in the event as a player.
However, instead of keeping all the cash for herself, she gave her first ever “salary” as a match official to her proud mother, who appeared shocked and excited at the same time.
“She kept on asking how much I wanted as it was my money after all, but I said she must keep it all and do whatever she wanted with it. At the same time, I just fell in love with refereeing because it also afforded me the chance to travel the country, attending training courses in many places including Johannesburg, Durban and other provinces.”
While she considered herself a good player and teammate, as the only girl in a family of seven children, she would often struggle to connect with other girls off the field and spent most of her time hanging out with the boys, she said.
Growing up, she had dreamt of following in the footsteps of her footballing hero, the legendary former Banyana Banyana striker Portia Modise. Modise still holds the record in both the men’s and women’s game as the only African player to score more than 100 goals for her country.
But even though, she was never able to fulfil that dream, she is at least comforted by progress made in growing women’s soccer in the country, especially seeing a lot of talented players from the Eastern Cape getting the nod to play for Banyana Banyana, a rarity during her own playing days.
As a match official though, she believes the men’s game is not easy especially for female assistant referees. Teams generally do not want to lose, and their fans can be ruthless at times. But she would still not trade the experience of officiating in a men’s game.
“You have to focus because the game is much faster and make sure your calls are spot on. But most importantly it helps build character because you have to be firm. When I started out, I remember sometimes wanting to cry but was told to be strong. One time, I even contemplated giving up entirely.”
When she is not officiating games, Fifi also runs her own internet cafe with one of her brothers in eMaXesibeni.
She is also passionate about staying fit and instructs aerobic classes at a local gym. But she still dreams of seeing herself officiating games in the Premier Soccer League in the near future.
“That is my biggest goal,” she said.
Daily Dispatch
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