A place in the room is earned. What comes after it is a responsibility.

That was one of the defining messages for the Kaizer Chiefs Ladies players at BRIMA Logistics’ Moving Women Forward evening, that took place on 31 August 2026 at the Birchwood Hotel in Ekurhuleni, where speakers focused on ambition, opportunity and leadership.

The function, held to bring Women’s Month to a close, brought the players into a room with women who have navigated their own paths in business, football and leadership. More importantly, it challenged them to consider what it means to be among those now helping to shape the pathway for others.

Guest speaker, Dr Mothomang Diaho, put the message into perspective from the outset. “Firstly, believe that you belong,” she told the players. “You are here because you are chosen. You belong here. It’s not an accident that you are in this room.”

For a group of players building their own history in the Gold & Black, the message was particularly relevant. Dr Diaho urged them to embrace their ambition rather than play it down, reminding them that their place in the team had been earned through the drive and determination that brought them there.

But belief, she stressed, cannot stand alone. “Prepare and prepare for the opportunity you may say you want,” she said, warning that opportunities do not always arrive in the form people expect. “A lot of us miss opportunities because we expect them to come dressed in a certain way.”

The players were also encouraged to recognise the influence that comes with having a platform.

“Please use your voices,” Dr Diaho said. “The greatest power we sit on is our ability to make our voices heard when it is important to do so.”

The sense of possibility beyond playing was emphasised by Kaizer Chiefs Head of Digital, Kemiso Motaung, who reminded the players that football can offer careers well beyond the field. “What’s great is that we don’t just have professions for women who play football,” Motaung said, pointing to the range of opportunities available within the organisation and the wider football industry. “There are so many things they can do. There are various opportunities, and the footsteps that we are taking are showing young women that it’s possible for them, too.”

The evening ended on a message of resilience from BRIMA Logistics Managing Director, Matsietsi Makoa. “When destruction and negative noise attempt to derail your dream and your vision,” she said. “Remember the words of the father of our democracy, Nelson Mandela: ‘If it were easy, everybody would do it’.”