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Before the general assembly of the Federation of Africa University Sports (Fasu) in Entebbe, Uganda, last Saturday and Sunday, Nomsa Mahlangu told a friend that she was ready to lead the organisation.
She had even prepared a professional manifesto on why she should be elected as president and what she would do if chosen.
However, when this happened on Sunday, she “became scared and overwhelmed at the same time”.
The former Safa executive committee member told City Press: “I remember last week telling a friend that I was ready, but after I was elected, I started asking myself a number of questions: Am I the right person for this job? Am I going to do the right thing?
“But now that the whole thing has sunk in, I feel I am ready. I told the executive that one of our first priorities should be changing the narrative about Africa.”
The meeting was attended by the president of the International University Sports Federation (Fisu) president, Professor Oleg Matytsin.
Besides being the continental body’s general assembly, it also incorporated a Fisu-Fasu strategic dialogue.
Mahlangu’s election means she leads a 10-member committee that includes her two vice-presidents Sidibe Daouda of Ivory Coast and Life Chemhere from Zimbabwe, whose four-year mandate ends in 2022. Her election assured her of a seat in the Fisu executive committee.
Mahlangu said: “The role of woman sports athletes in leadership is as critical as their male counterparts ... It is a combination of efforts that will propel us to greater heights.”
Mahlangu has served in several positions and sporting organisations for close to three decades, including on the Safa national executive committee (2009 to 2018); CAF general coordinator and match commissioner (2016 to date); member of the heads of sport at University Sports SA (2014 to date); on the 2010 Fifa World Cup local organising committee; CAF 2010 African Women’s Championship Organising committee chairperson; Safa Women’s football chairperson (2009 to 2013); member of the regional organising committee Africa Union Sports Council Region 5 (2017 to date); a member of the SA Sports Confederation; and on the International Olympic Committee’s Sport and Environment Commission (2010 to 2013).
She is the senior director of the University of Johannesburg sport bureau and holds a bachelor of leisure sciences (event and facility management) degree from the University of the Free State, and a BA honours in human movement science (sport and recreation) from the same institution.
The talkative administrator has been a member of the Tshwane University of Technology sport management advisory board since 2016.
Elaborating on her vision for the organisation, Mahlangu said: “Leadership is not about you, but about the people you lead. Hard work always pays off. No one has ever drowned in their own sweat. I told committee members that we can’t compromise on excellence, we must deliver excellently.”
Mahlangu said universities were in a very good position to produce top sportspeople because of the facilities and research resources at their disposal.
“We need to be united. Also, we must use the resources and scientific researchers to deliver great athletes. Developed countries such as Germany and the US have shown how much can be achieved if universities work hand in hand with sports federations,” she said.
“We can do even better in Africa. I belive Africans can do things for themselves without always bringing expertise from outside. Africa has world-class universities, such as the Makerere University [in Kampala, Uganda] that I grew up hearing a lot about.”
On a personal note, she observed: “I’m grateful for all the opportunities I’ve had since my days as a student at Vista University in Mamelodi in 1994. I have learnt a lot. There will always be people who will gossip about you, but never have the guts to tell you to your face if you are wrong.
“I don’t think there is anything that can shake me after everything I have been through since my involvement in sports began.
“Remember, calm seas don’t make strong sailors, but it’s the storms that make tough sailors.
“It’s the same in leadership. You need to go through storms, and overcome obstacles and challenges to be a strong leader.”
