Fikile Magama is still settling in at Banyana Banyana, making her one of the shiest players within the 23-member squad that’s representing the country at the Women’s World Cup.
But her improving, menacing defensive abilities, and newly found passion of playing the drum have seen her become a prominent figure within the Banyana squad.
Over the years, Banyana adopted a mini culture of belting out songs (Amagwijo) on their way to the change room and the field of play during pre-match warm-ups.
And while vice-captain Andile Dlamini also became prominent with her goalkeeping abilities and sweet voice among her peers, she’s been regarded as the lead singer of the group.
However, the band seems to be coming together nicely — with Magama not only engraving herself as one of the talented left centre-backs in the team but a drummer of note as well.
But the latter wasn’t something the 21-year-old knew she could do, with her primary focus being education and football at the University of Western Cape (UWC).
However, thanks to her regular visits to the Methodist Church and use of social media to watch the videos of her place of worship, she started to take a huge interest in the drums.
And since then, Magama has never looked. So much so that she ensured that a stunning-looking Banyana team made a grand entrance in Wellington for their World Cup group stage tie against Sweden.
Banyana players, who were resplendent in a navy-blue suit, white shirt and sneakers, belted out in songs which were coupled with Magama’s skills on the drum in the background.
“I wasn’t always passionate about drums. But when I am at church, they play the drum and sing there and I always watch them,” she told Independent Media at Banyana’s training base, Porirua Park, in New Zealand yesterday.
“When I watch the song videos of my church, the Methodist, they also play the drum. So that’s where my passion for playing the drum started.”
And while she uses her hands to play the drum and feet to play football, she reckons the two components go hand-in-hand as they determine the pace of melodies and tempo of the game.
“My flow of the game depends on the tempo. And that’s just like singing ‘igwijo’ — you use the tempo of the song to find the rhythm of the drum. So, the two correlate in some way,” she said.
While Magama might be one of the few players that has represented the country in both the U17 national team and Banyana World Cups, it’s still going to take some time before she’s a well-oiled machine on the pitch, but she's not complaining.
"The positive energy and vibe that I bring into the team, by merely playing the drum, is very important to me,” Magama said.
“It’s been a good experience. I didn’t play much in the junior World Cup due to an injury, but I am here now, and I believe that’s for a reason."
And with Magama and Co. duly enjoying the singing, drum-playing, and making a grand entrance at venues, they want to buy themselves sometime in the global showpiece by qualifying for the last 16.
Their bid to reach that stage, though, started on a sour note as they lost 2-1 to Sweden. But with Argentina in their way of getting their first win on Friday, Magama said they’ll be less costly.
“We learned from our mistakes — Sweden had an advantage; they were tall, and we were short. Things are going to be better in our next game — same height. Football will speak for itself,” she said.
IOL Sport