The Eastern Cape is known as one of the main producers for Banyana Banyana and there is a new name making waves.
Goalkeeper Unako Koyana, from Ducats, has got tongues wagging in the province and is earmarked to be the next star in the making who could play for the senior team in time.
She is only 17, but when opponents square up against her team, Nav Galaxy, in the Sasol League, they know they are in for a tough time.
Her peers and the football fraternity have given her the moniker Courtois, which is derived from the name of Real Madrid and Belgian shot-stopper Thibaut Courtois.
She was the Engen Knockout Provincial Challenge goalkeeper of the tournament in 2024. Nav Galaxy won the event.
This season in the Sasol League, she kept six clean sheets in the 12 games she played, and in 2024, she did the same.
It is this reputation that has earned the teenager a spot in the SA U20 women’s team camp as they prepare for the 2026 World Cup Africa Qualifiers.
Basetsana will play Ghana in February in another round of the qualification process for the global showpiece in Poland.
The U20s beat Eswatini 9-0 on aggregate in the previous round in September.
Koyana could not be reached for comment as she is in Gauteng with SA U20 head coach Maud Khumalo’s team.
But her mentor at Nav Galaxy, Asavela Nyeleka, who accompanied her to King Phalo Airport at the start of the week, said Koyana was thrilled with the call-up.
She made the senior team at Nav Galaxy at the age of 15, playing against players in their mid- and early 20s.
Since then, she has been the team’s first choice.
A brave goalkeeper who looks after her area with great command is how Nyeleka described her and the reason for sticking with her in goal.
“She has been consistent since she made her senior debut.
“Regardless of any team we faced in the Sasol and Engen, she stood up for us.
“Some officials from teams called her a brick wall because it’s so hard to score against her.
“As a team, we are delighted because usually it’s players from the Hollywood Super League that get priority in call-ups.
“For her to have been called to train with the SA U20s means she is doing something well in her career and for sure will grow and maybe one day be in the Banyana squad,” he said.
A few recent names to don the colours of the national senior team include Kholosa Biyana, Bambanani Mbane and Melinda Kgadiete.
Daily Dispatch
