Why Chiefs could not be left behind with women’s football

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Soccer Laduma (@soccer_laduma)

Rugby

Podcasts & Videos

The Club House

Win
–>

PHOTO: Kaizer Chiefs Ladies Facebook

Home

Psl

Kaizer Chiefs

Why Chiefs could not be left behind with women’s football

Sep 7, 2026 – 09:45 pm
By Thato Bosoga

Arminia Bielefeld Ladies attacker Sophia Thiemann has opened up on the growth of women’s football and the issue of belonging, speaking in a roundtable discussion, in partnership with Kaizer Chiefs.

In celebration of women’s month, Arminia Bielefeld and Chiefs held an online roundtable discussion, titled ‘United for women’, with players from both sides engaging with the host and the media, a session which KickOff attended.

READ | Chiefs Ladies midfielder Maseko opens up on Man City dream

Responding to a report by Nielsen Sports, which projected that in 2030 women’s football will be in the top five sports that is watched world wide, will also have a 38% increase in fanbase and that the global audience is expected to rise by 30% – with 60% of the fans predicted to be female, Thiemann felt that the projections are realistic.

“Definitely, the interest in general for women’s football has grown, you cannot deny it. For the players, it is an amazing possibility to have the stage and not just play in front of ten people and those ten people are mom and dad, those are the most important people,” Thiemann said.

“But in general the fact that there is visibility in general, that also comes with responsibility for the players. But we should not forget that in the end it’s about football.

“Of course when the visibility comes, the pressure comes and we should be able to deal with the pressure. But if you are able to focus on the game and have fun, then people will be able to embrace the visibility. When you’re playing for a bigger club, it comes with responsibility, yes but in the end it’s about football,” the German midfielder said.

READ | Chiefs Ladies promotion hopes on track, Qhekeka opens up on pressure

With the women’s game still in its early phases of development in most countries, the 30-year-old also addressed the topic of belonging for ladies starting out in a male dominated sport.

“So when I started playing football, I used to play handball, of course there were those questions, do you belong, do you not belong, because obviously everyone is male, it was kind of an odd feeling to start off but when we got to play, they started to appreciate what I was able to do and that there’s no difference in gender,” Thiemann said.

“I just felt I belonged. I think that is a key point when it comes to the belonging issue. If you stop asking yourself, ‘Do I belong?’ I think you already do,” the German added.