Nonku Williams is turning a charity football match into a personal statement of solidarity as South Africa continues to confront devastating cases of gender-based violence and femicide.
Key takeaways
- The reality star, mother and entrepreneur took part in Soccer Fab at Mall of Africa on Saturday, 26 September.
- She joined Brown Mbombo, Ratile Mabitsela, Simz Ngema, Mbali Nkosi and Nunurai Mudarikwa for the women’s charity match.
- Nine women were killed in Ekurhuleni over a two-month period, bringing the national crisis painfully close to the event.
- Funds raised through the tournament will help provide girls with sanitary towels and toiletries.
- Williams says the support she received from women after her divorce and while raising children alone motivates her to help others.
Why Soccer Fab feels personal to Nonku Williams
Williams has long been familiar with demanding physical and emotional circumstances, whether through her wellness journey or the highly publicised difficulties in her private life.
The mother of three and business owner joined a team of women for Soccer Fab, an initiative hosted by Brown Mbombo that combines women’s football with fundraising for a charitable cause.
Her appearance came during an especially painful period. With horrifying reports of gender-based violence and femicide continuing to dominate South African headlines, Williams said being surrounded by women on the pitch carried significant personal meaning.
For her, the gathering was far more meaningful than a standard celebrity sporting engagement.
At the event, held at Mall of Africa on Saturday, 26 September, Williams played with Mbombo, Ratile Mabitsela, Simz Ngema, Mbali Nkosi and Nunurai Mudarikwa.
The match took place after nine women were killed in Ekurhuleni across two months, highlighting how near the country’s wider GBV and femicide crisis remains to ordinary communities.
Williams described her decision to participate as deeply personal, explaining that motherhood and her own experiences have taught her the strain of constantly having to appear strong.
Showing up, she said, allows her to stand beside other women and connect her own story to a broader discussion about endurance, survival and the strength women share.
Her life has frequently been observed and judged in public. Her romantic relationships, experience of motherhood, business ambitions and several painful periods have all unfolded under scrutiny.
Williams previously spoke candidly about her relationship with Sfiso Ncwane and their daughter, as well as the betrayal and heartbreak she felt. At the time, she described Ncwane as someone who pursued many women. She has also discussed suffering mental, physical and emotional abuse during an earlier marriage.
Her relationship with Dumisani Ndlanzi later became a prominent storyline on The Real Housewives of Durban. More recently, she faced a dispute with Beverly Steyn after borrowing money under a written agreement and failing to settle the debt by the agreed time.
Those experiences have given Williams a clear understanding of public embarrassment and relentless examination. She said that although her life has revealed both its happiest and most painful chapters, only her closest sisters truly know who she is.
That is why she treasures environments where women can relax without having to defend or explain themselves. In moments when life becomes messy and intensely public, that kind of freedom has particular value.
Williams said unguarded time spent laughing, dancing, playing football and behaving silly without cameras passing judgment helps sustain her. She added that everyone needs friends with whom they can simply be themselves, calling that freedom invaluable.
Exercise, physical activity and healthy fun with other women give her an opportunity to step away from the version of herself that the public constantly observes.
Support, sisterhood and the message behind the donations
Williams’ belief in female solidarity was formed well before Soccer Fab. She recalls women supporting her through some of the hardest stages of her life, including the aftermath of her divorce and the challenge of starting a business while bringing up her children as a single mother.
She credits her mother, her sisters and her spiritual mothers with helping her survive those periods. When she felt broken, she said, women prayed for her, cared for her children and reminded her that she would recover and rise again.
That history is also why the tournament’s donations are so important to her. Support does not always require a grand gesture, she explained: it can be a prayer, a call, a meal or a simple assurance that someone is present. Those acts are why she intends to continue standing up for women.
The sanitary products and toiletries gathered through Soccer Fab will go to girls, and Williams hopes the assistance carries a message that lasts beyond the day of the match.
She wants every recipient to know that she has not been overlooked and that poverty or limited resources do not determine her value.
Williams also stressed that menstruation should never keep a girl from attending school or pursuing her ambitions. Every girl, she said, deserves dignity, an education and the chance to build an extraordinary future.
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