Africa-Press – Eswatini. The sky is indeed not the limit.
Eswatini Football Association Chief Safety and Security officer Xolile Nokuthula Vilakati has proven that gender or age does not matter but dedication and hard work can yield good results for anyone. Vilakati left the country on June 30, 2023 and headed to Cairo, Egypt, to join the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as the CAF Safety and Security Officer. She is expected to begin her duties this month. She has made the country proud as she stands to be the first female from Eswatini to join the association. She was a constable in the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS), where she served for more than 10 years. It was during this time that she developed her career in safety and security.
Reached for comment, Vilakati declared her passion for her job. “I love my security job very much I know some people may take it for granted but all I can say is that as a security officer you are basically in charge to protect life and property and to me this is a huge responsibility. I think I am so blessed, and more than anything else a blessing to my family and country to be the first female liSwati to work in the headquarters of African football. I also thank Eswatini Football Association(EFA) and Premier League of Eswatini (PLE) for allowing and trusting me that I can make slight changes and improvements in football in my country,” she said.
She went on to state that she would embrace the opportunity. “I really have no better words to explain how I feel about this opportunity except to thank God who always has better plans for my life and I genuinely believe that God will protect me while I am in Egypt. Being a security officer is not something I woke up into, but I did a lot of studies in security and safety to get these qualifications, which includes basic policing, police science, occupational health, business management, border security as well as human resource management and Level five in Crowd management, among others,” she added.
Proud
Meanwhile, the local football mother body, EFA, through the Marketing and Communications Officer, Muzi ‘Rhoo’ Radebe, said as an association they were proud of Vilakati, as she was a hard worker. “This should be a motivation to football administrators and others who are in the same line even those she was working with in the security forces. We wish her all the best and we hope she will cope in her stay in Egypt,” Radebe said. The powerful woman assured other women that it was possible to reach for the stars.
Grab
“To the youth, all I can say is that no one knows what the future holds; all you need to do is to grab any opportunity that comes your way. Never be afraid to take chances because you may never know; I took the chance on the post that was advertised on Facebook regarding this great opportunity in CAF and look where I am today. Furthermore, looking at the salary offer I really could not resist but grab the opportunity and embark on my new journey,” Vilakati said, without disclosing her pay. Following the latest developments, Vilakati, who was a Mbabane-based police officer, has taken a voluntary early retirement.
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