Rising young football star and St Stithians matric learner Kirsten Nolan has been awarded the school’s sportswoman of the year.
The school, Mamelodi Sundowns, and U20 women’s national team striker is proud to have received the award.
“I honestly did not expect to receive the award, but it feels amazing to get it. I have been working hard for this since Grade 8, and I faced strong competition,” Nolan said.
The other nominees for the award were Leila Fernandes and Kate Hinrichs.
Nolan continued, “I started playing when I was five years old, where I drew a lot of my inspiration from my dad, who was a brilliant player in his day and was selected to play for Aston Villa.”
Nolan has been a member of the school’s first team since she was in Grade 8, and has been the top goal scorer in her team for a number of years.
She has also received the award for the top goal scorer in the JVW School’s League every year since 2014 and is a member of the University of Johannesburg’s first women’s football team.
In 2016, she was called up to be part of the South African women’s U17 national team and earned her first international cap against Nigeria.
Last year, she became part of the U20 national team, Basetsana, which will compete in the World Cup qualifiers.
In April this year, she became a striker for Mamelodi Sundowns, scoring 31 goals in the 11 matches she has played so far.
Nolan is looking forward to competing in the African Sports Council U20 Youth Games, which will be played in Gaborone in December.
