Wendy Shongwe dreaming of FIFA Women's World Cup spot

Shongwe may be one of the most exciting players in the Hollywoodbets Super League, and as fulltime student, she has made balancing books and boots look like a breeze.

While she's has fully imesserd herself in getting a qualification in Sports Science at Tuks, she also happened to make a return to the national team as one of the initial 36 players for Banyana Banyana’s pre-World Cup squad ahead of the showpiece in Australia and New Zealand in July.

Desiree Ellis and her coaching staff will reduce the number of players to 23 and, although she did not feature in the 3-2 defeat to Serbia, Shongwe has not given up hope of making the trip Down Under.

"It’s an important year, and I’m very thankful that I’m injury free," she told SABC Sport. "Yes, being called up to Banyana Banyana is very important. My goal is to make the World Cup squad.”

It’s as simple as that for the soft-spoken 20-year-old, who earned her first national tea call-up, thanks to her brilliant performances in the 2021 Sasol League Championship. 

And while the chances of impressing Ellis have been few and far between, Shongwe has demonstrated she is quite capable of doing what is required.

In only their first season in the semi-professional league, Shongwe has been a consistent key player, helping lift AmaTuks from the bottom half of the table to the top six at the halfway stage.

While that may be a respectable goal for other debutants, the 2021 Varsity Football Player of the Tournament is looking to add another to her long list of achievements.

"I want to [be] the youngest Player of the Season in the Hollywoodbets Super League, score a lot of goals and [register] many assists”, she added. 

With nine goals in 16 games, only in due course will she know if she comes close to the 30-goal mark reached by TS Galaxy Queens striker Nompumelelo Nyandeni while she was still with JVW FC in 2022.