Linda Maserame Motlhalo (born 1 July 1998) is a South African professional
soccer player
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
who plays as a
winger for
SWPL 1 club
Glasgow City and the
South Africa women's national team. She is also known as the 'Randfontein
Ronaldinho
Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born 21 March 1980), commonly known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho () or simply Ronaldinho, is a Brazilian retired professional association football, footballer who played mostly as an attacking midfielder, but was also deplo ...
'.
Early life
Linda Motlhalo was born in
Badirile,
Brandvlei, in
Randfontein
Randfontein is a gold mining town in the West Rand, Gauteng, South Africa, west of Johannesburg. With the Witwatersrand gold rush in full swing, mining financier JB Robinson bought the farm Randfontein and, in 1889, floated the Randfontein Est ...
,
Gauteng
Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'.
Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...
, on 7 January 1998.
Her family has a footballing history, with her father Johannes Motlhalo attempting to become a professional player. Although he failed to do so, his brother
Joseph Motlhalo became a
goalkeeper
In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...
for
Kaizer Chiefs F.C. between 1970 and 1985.
Motlhalo attended
TuksSport High School, during which time she was part of the South African High Performance Centre in Pretoria.
Club career
Houston Dash
On 1 February 2018 Motlhalo signed with the
Houston Dash
The Houston Dash is a professional women's soccer team based in Houston, Texas. It joined the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) in the 2014 season, and is affiliated with the MLS team Houston Dynamo FC.
History Establishment
On November ...
in the
National Women's Soccer League. She was brought in by Dash head coach
Vera Pauw
Vera Pauw (; born 18 January 1963) is a Dutch football coach and former player. She currently manages the Republic of Ireland women's national football team. She has managed several national women's football teams, including Scotland, Netherland ...
who coached the
South African national team from 2014 to 2016. Motlhalo made 21 NWSL appearances for the Dash and scored 1 goal.
Motlhalo was waived by the Houston Dash on 6 February 2019.
Beijing BG Phoenix F.C.
On 22 February 2019 Motlhalo was unveiled as a player of
Beijing BG Phoenix F.C.
Beijing Women Football Club () is a Chinese professional football club located in Beijing. They compete in the Chinese Women's Super League, and their home stadium is Xiannongtan Stadium.
History
Beijing Women's Football Team was established in ...
in the
Chinese Women's Super League
The Chinese Women's Super League (CWSL) is the top level women's association football, football league in China. It was called the Chinese Women's National Football League from 2011 to 2014.
History
The league started in 1997 as the Chinese Wome ...
, joining her
South African and former Houston Dash teammate
Thembi Kgatlana who also made the move to China.
Motlhalo started all 14 league games for Beijing across the 2019 season as the team finished fifth in the
CWSL, playing the majority of the campaign in a deeper central midfield role. She also helped guide Beijing to a semifinal finish in the Chinese Women's Championship.
Djurgårdens IF
On 18 January 2020 it was announced that Motlhalo had joined Swedish side
Djurgårdens IF
Djurgårdens Idrottsförening, commonly known simply as Djurgårdens IF, Djurgården (), and (especially locally) Djurgår'n (), Dif or DIF – is a Swedish sports association with several sections, located in Stockholm.
Name
The club is name ...
on a two-year deal, subject to receipt of her working visa.
Motlhalo made her debut on 22 February 2020, scoring twice after coming on as a substitute in a Stockholm derby victory over
AIK
AIK Fotboll (), more commonly known simply as AIK (), an abbreviation for Allmänna Idrottsklubben (meaning ''the public'' or ''general sports club''), is a Swedish football club competing in Allsvenskan, the top flight of Swedish football. The ...
. In January 2021 she was named Newcomer of the Year by her Djurgården teammates for her performances across the 2020 season.
In January 2022, it was announced that Motlhalo had signed a new two-year contract to remain at the club.
Glasgow City
On 23 January 2023, Motlhalo officially joined
SWPL 1 club
Glasgow City on a permanent deal, signing a contract until June 2025 with the Scottish club.
International career
While attending the High Performance Centre, Motlhalo played for the South Africa women's national under-20 football team as a
forward. This included in matches as part of the
2015 African U-20 Women's World Cup Qualifying Tournament
The 2015 African U-20 Women's World Cup Qualifying Tournament was the 8th edition of the African U-20 Women's World Cup Qualifying Tournament, the biennial international youth football competition organised by the Confederation of African Footbal ...
.
Motlhalo was called up to the
senior squad for the first time in October 2015, following an injury to
Thembi Kgatlana which caused her to be withdrawn from the team.
Motlhalo did not play at the time, but instead made her debut against
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
in 2016,
in which she scored in the 2–2 draw.
She said, "I am just happy to have been part of this team. The senior players have made me feel at home and it was good to rub shoulders with the likes of
Janine and
Amanda. I really enjoyed my time here."
In 2016, Motlhalo attended the
2016 Summer Olympics in
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...
, before playing the
2016 Africa Women Cup of Nations in Cameroon as part of the Banyana Banyana side.
At the
2018 Africa Women Cup of Nations
Eighteen or 18 may refer to:
* 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19
* one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018
Film, television and entertainment
* ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the short ...
in Ghana, Motlhalo started all five games for South Africa as the team reached the final of the competition before losing to Nigeria on penalties. She scored one goal at the competition and was named Player of the Match during her side's semifinal encounter with Mali.
Motlhalo attended the
2019 FIFA Women's World Cup
The 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup was the eighth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international Women's association football championship contested by 24 women's national teams representing member associations of FIFA. I ...
with South Africa but came into the tournament struggling with injury. While she started the side's opening game with Spain, the remainder of her tournament was limited to a late substitute appearance against China.
In September 2021, Motlhalo scored for South Africa in a decisive 4–2 win over Nigeria as Banyana Banyana won the inaugural
Aisha Buhari Cup in Lagos. Motlhalo was subsequently South Africa's top-scorer in qualification for the
2022 Africa Women Cup of Nations
The 2022 Africa Women Cup of Nations, officially known as the TotalEnergies Women's Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, will be the 14th edition of the Africa Women Cup of Nations (formerly African Women's Championship), the biennial i ...
, scoring five goals across four fixtures with
Mozambique
Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
and
Algeria
)
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, capital = Algiers
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, relig ...
to help Banyana Banyana book a place at the finals.
International goals
''Scores and results list South Africa's goal tally first''
Honours
International
*
2022 Africa Women Cup of Nations
The 2022 Africa Women Cup of Nations, officially known as the TotalEnergies Women's Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, will be the 14th edition of the Africa Women Cup of Nations (formerly African Women's Championship), the biennial i ...
Winner
*
2018 Africa Women Cup of Nations
Eighteen or 18 may refer to:
* 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19
* one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018
Film, television and entertainment
* ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the short ...
runner-up
*2021
Aisha Buhari Cup champion
Individual
*
2018 COSAFA Women's Championship
The 2018 COSAFA Women's Championship was an international football tournament for national teams organised by COSAFA, teams from Southern Africa. It took place from 12 to 22 September in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, South Afric ...
top-scorer
*2020
Djurgårdens IF
Djurgårdens Idrottsförening, commonly known simply as Djurgårdens IF, Djurgården (), and (especially locally) Djurgår'n (), Dif or DIF – is a Swedish sports association with several sections, located in Stockholm.
Name
The club is name ...
Newcomer of the Year
References
External links
*
Houston Dash bio*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Motlhalo, Linda
1998 births
Living people
People from Hantam Local Municipality
South African women's soccer players
Footballers at the 2016 Summer Olympics
South Africa women's international soccer players
Olympic soccer players of South Africa
South African expatriate women's soccer players
Houston Dash players
National Women's Soccer League players
Women's association football midfielders
2019 FIFA Women's World Cup players
Beijing BG Phoenix F.C. players
Damallsvenskan players
Djurgårdens IF Fotboll (women) players
Glasgow City F.C. players
Scottish Women's Premier League players