At just 16 years old, Mariam Monnapula is already charting a path that stretches far beyond the football pitch. A winger for the Kick4Life Junior Women’s team and an Academy participant, she represents a new generation of young leaders emerging from Lesotho; driven, multi-dimensional, and determined to uplift others.
Born and raised in Khubetsoana, Maseru, Mariam’s journey in football began in the most natural place: her neighbourhood, playing casually with older boys. Those early games fuelled her competitive fire and shaped her love for the sport. But it was her uncle, a devoted Real Madrid supporter, who deepened her passion. “Whenever I visited him, we watched matches together,” she says. “That’s how I fell in love with Real Madrid. Vinícius Júnior is my favourite player, especially because we’re both wingers, and we even share a birthday.”
By the time she reached Grade 8 at Lesotho High School in 2022, Mariam’s love for football was ingrained. It was also the moment she discovered Kick4Life. Her uncle encouraged her mother to enrol her in the Kick4Life Soccer Schools, and soon after, she witnessed what was possible. A fellow student, Hlompho, earned a place on the Kick4Life Junior Women’s team, an achievement that inspired Mariam, who says: “Seeing how much she improved pushed me to work harder. I wanted to follow that path.”
Joining Kick4Life became a turning point. Mariam thrived through the organisation’s holistic Academy model, excelling both on the field and in her academics. Today, she has just completed her Grade 11 final examinations and is eagerly awaiting her results, already proud of her 2025 achievements as the top performer in Chemistry and Physics and showing notable improvements in Sesotho and other subjects through Kick4Life’s tutoring support.
Her development as a player has been equally impressive. She recalls her proudest highlight: the 2024 winter training sessions, where she committed to refining her work ethic. “I pushed myself to ask for feedback after every session,” says Mariam. “During league games, when our names were announced and mine was there on the teamsheet, it made all the hard work worth it.”
Kick4Life’s career guidance sessions also played a significant role. Hearing testimonies from scholar-athletes such as Thabo Mahala ignited something in her. “I became motivated to be the best version of myself on and off the pitch,” she explains. “The life skills programmes helped me build confidence and to see the world differently.”
Beyond football, she is an active member of Kick4Life’s Run4YourLife, a weekly Saturday morning run/walk that helps her maintain the fitness and discipline that elevate her performance. In October, she proposed hosting a Breast Cancer Awareness run/walk on the last Saturday of the month, an idea that turned into a hugely successful event.
Mariam is not only committed to her own growth, but she is also passionate about empowering others. She is an active member of the Child Leadership Team, a group of young people advocating for children’s rights, and the Youth Voices for a Sustainable Future, a platform that amplifies youth perspectives on environmental protection and climate justice.
Her leadership qualities led to a remarkable opportunity in 2024: representing Lesotho at the Regional Child Leadership Conference in Lilongwe, Malawi, held on the Day of the African Child. Selected by the Lesotho regional coordinator for her academic excellence, leadership, and her interest in law, Mariam joined youth from across Africa to discuss child participation, climate change, and issues affecting young people.
“It was a new experience that opened my eyes,” she reflects. “I built connections with young advocates from different countries and developed a strong spirit of advocacy.
Off the field, Mariam shines just as brightly in the world of science and innovation. She is a member of the Girls Coding Academy and has spent two seasons competing in the FIRST Tech Challenge robotics competitions.
Her robotics journey is impressive: In the 2023–2024 season, her first year, she served as Head of Assembly, responsible for the design and construction of her team’s robot. They placed 6th at the Gauteng Sci-Bono competition in South Africa, and in the 2024–2025 season, she rose to Team Captain, Head of Assembly, and Driver, demonstrating advanced leadership and technical expertise.
For Mariam, robotics is more than a hobby, it is part of a bigger dream. “I want to be an aerospace engineer and an environmentalist,” she says confidently. She recently took part in the BUILD-in-a-Box programme hosted at Kick4Life, an entrepreneurial leadership camp run by African Leadership Academy. “It was transformative,” she says. “It challenged me to think critically, innovate, and envision myself as a changemaker.”
On the pitch, Mariam hopes to perfect her skills as a winger and eventually play at a more competitive level. But she also dreams of becoming a role model for young girls in football, proof that they can excel academically, athletically, and socially.
Her story is a powerful reminder of what young people can achieve when given support, opportunity, and the courage to dream boldly.
