WHILE twins are usually a rare occurrence in soccer circles, South Africa is blessed enough to have at least three sets of them in women’s football.
Three teams at the ongoing Sasol League National Championships in Mpumalanga, Kanatla Ladies (Limpopo), Sunflower FC (KwaZulu-Natal) and Cape Town Roses (Western Cape), each have a set of twins playing for them at the event.
Kanatla have Kedibone and Tebogo Mnisi (21), Roses have Noxolo and Sinoxolo Cesane (18) and Sunflower have the double trouble package of Thubelihle and Sphumelele Shamase, who are just 15.
The Sasol League has played a huge role in unearthing youngsters like the Cesane twins, who first came to prominence at this tournament two years ago.
And the young twins from KZN have been making their presence felt at this year’s edition, helping their Sunflower side make an impact on debut.
Furthermore, the two sets of twins from KZN and the Western Cape are all national team players. The Cesanes are part of the Under-20 (Basetsana) setup while the young Shamase twins are having the time of their lives playing for the Under-17s (Bantwana).
Spectators had the chance to see these two sets of twins share the field of play when Roses played to a 1-1 draw with Sunflowers on Tuesday.
On playing for the same team as her sister, even on national level, Phumelele Shamase said: “It feels great playing with my sister in the same team. Our aim in the Bantwana team is too qualify for our first ever Under-17 World Cup.
“It has not been an easy journey for us but we do not give up. We keep working hard because we know success is always worth it!”
Limpopo’s twins, Kanatla’s Kedibone and Tebogo, have not yet featured for SA but hope to do enough at the national championships to catch the eye of Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis.
They also started their careers in the Sasol League in Limpopo.
The Mnisi twins said: “We started playing at a young age and joined Kanatla in 2015. This is our third national championships appearance.
“We hope to represent the country some day. We must start by doing well for our team, then the recognition will come.”
) One Absa Premiership team also features twins. Golden Arrows have twins Brendon and Brandon Parusnath on their books.
