Position: Forward
Birthdate: July 1, 1998
Hometown: Brandvlei, Gauteng, South Africa
Height: 5-foot-4
Pronunciation: Linda Motlhalo
Previous Team: Glasgow City (Scotland)
2024: The South African international made one regular season appearance in her debut Racing Louisville season.
Before Racing Louisville FC: A versatile attacking player who can play centrally or out wide, Motlhalo comes to Racing after a year at Glasgow City in the Scottish Women’s Premier League, where she tallied four goals and six assists in 32 appearances.
Before Glasgow City, Motlhalo spent three years with Swedish club Djugårdens IF in the top-flight Damallsvenskan, with seven goals and three assists in 75 appearances. She played a year for Beijing BG Phoenix in China in 2019. Motlhalo played alongside South Africa teammate and former Racing forward Thembi Kgatlana with the Houston Dash in 2018, making 20 starts in 21 appearances as a 19-year-old.
International: Motlhalo has 20 goals in 72 appearances for the South Africa national team, first breaking through with the senior team as a 17-year-old. She has played in two FIFA Women’s World Cups, including this past summer, and a Summer Olympics in addition to winning the Africa Women Cup of Nations in 2022.
She scored once in four starts at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, helping South Africa reach the knockout stage for the first time in the nation’s history.
Motlhalo was integral in South Africa’s run to its 2022 African championship, with two goals in six appearances. Her penalty in the fourth minute of added time served as the game-winner in the Cup of Nations semifinal.
