By Josh Inocéncio
For Janine van Wyk, playing soccer—or football as it’s known in her home country of South Africa—required her to be a trailblazer. “There weren’t any girls’ teams or girls who even played soccer back then,” says van Wyk, one of the most recent additions to the Houston Dash’s team. “There were no ways for girls to participate in the sport.”
But watching her uncle play professionally and jumping in games with her male cousins allowed van Wyk to hone the necessary skills for the sport. She played informally with boys until she turned 14 and had to find an all-girls team. And even in populous Johannesburg, she couldn’t find any in her community. “I had to go to a rural area to play with all black girls because soccer was more popular in the black community,” van Wyk recalls.
As a white girl coming from a white community, she didn’t easily bond with her fellow players at first. After all, she was the first white girl to ever play on their team. “They didn’t accept me until I proved that I was there to just play the game,” she says. “It was a struggle, but nothing stopped me because I loved the game so much.”
But in addition to challenging gender and racial norms in and around her South African community, van Wyk also came out as a lesbian when she was 15. “I knew growing up that I wasn’t a really girly individual and I was always referred to as a tomboy,” explains van Wyk. When she came out to her family, they had trouble accepting the news at first. After a few months, however, they became more comfortable.
“I’m the only South African playing in this league. I know I’ll be a legend who can inspire young girls to keep playing.” —Janine van Wyk (front). Photo by ISI Photo.
South Africa legalized same-sex marriage nearly 10 years before the United States, but van Wyk still believes it’s easier to be openly LGBTQ here than back home. “There’s more acceptance in America than in South Africa,” van Wyk says. “One of my teammates [back home] got murdered by her male friends because she was lesbian. It’s still difficult for people to walk around hand in hand. But things are changing all over the world.” She also notes that she sees lots of gay and lesbian soccer fans in the crowds at Houston Dash games.
Still, with all the barriers she’s smashed as both a woman and as a lesbian, van Wyk’s proudest accomplishment is joining the Houston Dash. At 18, she started playing for the South African Women’s National Team. She even launched her own teams to encourage young girls to play, seeking to abate the hurdles from her youth. But her moment to play for a U.S. National Women’s Soccer League team—which she considers the world’s best league for women—came just before the last Olympics when South Africa played the United States. “I believe it was there that I got scouted and picked up by Houston Dash coach Randy Waldrum,” she says. “It was the happiest moment of my career because I’ve always wanted to play in this league.”
Of course, van Wyk misses South Africa. But she knows that she’ll be well respected—especially by women and girls—when she returns home. “My heart will always be in South Africa,” she says. “[The challenges there] made me the person that I am today. But I knew I needed another challenge for myself.”
“I’m the only South African playing in this league,” she adds. “I know I’ll be a legend who can inspire young girls to keep playing.”
And while challenges persist for LGBTQ players across the spectrum, van Wyk is pushing everyone to be themselves in the face of adversity. “With hard work and determination, you’ll reach success,” she says.
