South Africa Banyana Banyana forward Thembi Kgatlana has left the US National Women’s Soccer League for a new club in the Mexico women’s league in a record deal.
The South African forward has been with Racing Louisville since leaving Spanish Women’s league side Atletico Madrid in 2022.
In Louisville, Kgatlana tallied two goals and two assists in 16 appearances for Racing after returning from a 10-month rehabilitation process to heal a torn Achilles tendon. She originally signed with Racing from Atletico Madrid in July 2022 but suffered her injury a week after the announcement, delaying her arrival until January 2023.
Over the year with Racing, Kgatlana became a fan and locker-room favorite while helping Louisville to its first NWSL knockout tournament appearance in the UKG NWSL Challenge Cup. She started seven league games for Racing and notched 797 total minutes across all competitions, making her first appearance on May 6 in Orlando.
The six-figure transfer fee ($275 000) is the second-highest in National Women’s Soccer League history for a player departing the league for a foreign club – and the largest transfer fee in Racing history. The agreement includes a sell-on clause and an add-on to the transfer fee for Racing should Kgatlana surpass a specific number of goals for Tigres.
Meanwhile, At Tigres, Kgatlana joins a club that recently won the Liga MX Femenil’s 2022 Torneo Apertura.
Kgatlana, 27, played a huge role in Desiree Ellis’s South Africa Women’s team making history at this past summer’s 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, where she scored twice and assisted two goals in leading Banyana Banyana to its first knockout stage appearance at the globe’s biggest tournament.
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