The recent CAF C coaching licence graduation ceremony held at SAFA House marked a significant milestone for many aspiring football coaches in South Africa. Among the graduates were two remarkable women, Elizabeth Mazivise from the University of Johannesburg and Kaitlin Hunt of BalderstoneSports Institute. As they take their first steps as certified coaches, they share their motivations, experiences, and aspirations for the future of women’s football.
Kaitlin Hunt, currently serving as a coach at Balderstone Sports Institute, began her football journey driven by an innate passion for the game. "I have been at Balderstone Sports Institute for just under a year now. I have always had a love for sport but especially football since a young age, " Kaitlin shared.
“I always knew I wanted to work in football, having come from a football background and having grown up in football it was definitely where I saw myself working in my career. I have also always been interested in rehabilitation of injuries and the process of returning to injury which led me to further my studies from my Sports Science degree into Honours Biokinetics. I really enjoy helping players and athletes return to sport and performance. "
Her decision to pursue the CAF C coaching licence was motivated by a desire to enhance her skills and align with her career goals. "I have always been passionate about education, one can never stop learning. I am a firm believer in understanding the sport you are working in. Completing coaching licences can give one a better understanding of the sport you are working in and get a better understanding of the fundamentals of the game as well as understand the technical team better too, which led me to further my understanding of football by completing my coaching licence through SAFA Ekurhuleni and the Hollywood Foundation." she explained.
Kaitlin believes that advancing women's football in South Africa requires a fundamental shift in equal support structures and opportunities. "I think the biggest change that needs to happen in women’s football is people seeing women as equals in the game. By treating them fairly as well as equal pay (salaries).”
“By seeing women as equals in the game, it allows women to gain the respect they deserve in the game of football. I see myself contributing to that by contributing to the women’s game as much as I can as in strength and conditioning and coaching. By adding value to the women's game I hope it can result in us being seen as equals."
Looking ahead, Kaitlin, the daughter of renowned South African football coach Gavin Hunt has clear aspirations and commitment to the sport by paving her own way and follow in the footsteps of her father, who has left an indelible mark on South African football through his stints with clubs like Supersport United, Kaizer Chiefs, and Bidvest Wits. "My dreams for myself are to work at the highest level possible of football in South Africa (Hollywood Bets, PSL or National Team).”
“I hope to achieve this in the years to come, I believe I am capable and I can achieve them over time.I believe in hard work and putting in the hours in order to achieve your dreams. I have big dreams and aspirations for myself and I hope and pray I can achieve them one day. I do not want to limit myself to what I can achieve in this industry."
Mazivise is a dedicated athlete at the University of Johannesburg, who has already built an impressive resume in the sport. With her background as an experienced Strength and Conditioning Coach for clubs like La Masia Football Club and Moroka Swallows DDC, and her current role as an Assistant Coach at Black Scorpions SAB.
When asked about her motivation for enrolling in the CAF C coaching license course, Elizabeth explained, “After our football manager [Nolufefe Sila] Fefe gave us an opportunity to equip ourselves with the D licence, that sparked an interest to take coaching further. I also thought about after my playing career is over, I want to branch into coaching and stay within the football industry. When the rollout for the C license came out specifically for women, I jumped at the opportunity and really hoped they would select me, which they did - thank God.”
Elizabeth’s aspirations after completing the course are clear—she aims to apply the knowledge gained to elevate the level of coaching within women’s football and to contribute to the overall growth of the sport. “Now that we're officially certified, I want to focus on my progress portfolio to ensure that I put into practice everything we've learned from the course as well as grow in this role of coaching so that when the time is right to progress to the B licence, I'll be ready.”
The young goalie also shared the most valuable lesson she learned from the course: “I'll ensure that there's proper planning well ahead of the sessions, ensure that I have my own philosophy that I stand by and drive towards and constantly equip myself with knowledge about the game because the game is always evolving. [Overall] To be a well organised coach.”
Just like Kaitlin, Mazivise is also passionate about driving change in the sport and believes that significant changes at grassroot level are needed to propel women’s football forward in South Africa. “We need to focus more on development at grassroot level because those structures lack support which leads to late development for us [females] compared to males that have many structures in place.”
“We also need investors that are willing to overlook the ‘now’ end product but rather focus on the long term end result - that would really advance our growth in the game because everything else that they are looking for (crowds, returns etc.) will eventually follow. Lastly sponsorship, if we look at the Hollywoodbets being our only sponsor in the women’s football league, they have taken the league on another level and the growth is evidently seen in the level of competition growing which is good for the Ladies national teams, so if more big sponsors can come on board, there will be an even bigger positive impact.” She added.
“To contribute to this change as women we need to equip ourselves and grab opportunities that arise for us within the industry so that when we are in those positions that allow us to advocate for ourselves, we can do so while doing the groundwork that is needed. I think if we can all just put in a brush where we can, we will eventually paint the bigger picture.”
Well done ladies. Onwards and upwards from here.
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