University of Johannesburg (UJ) official Nomsa Mahlangu has been recognised for her contribution to varsity sport by being elected president of the Federation of African University Sports.

The federation is internationally known as Fédération Africain du Sport Universitaire (Fasu).

Mahlangu, a senior director of sport at UJ, won the election with a big majority when it was held in Entebbe, Uganda, last month.

"There were four of us in line for the post, but Ibrahim Bangura from Sierra Leone withdrew on election morning," said Mahlangu, who became the first woman president of the continental body.

She will hold office for four years and said she was looking forward to her term as she hoped to improve the standard of university sport on the continent across the board.

"I believe there are some important times ahead of us and our goals going forward are to unite the varsity sportsmen and women in Africa," said Mahlangu.

"We feel that university sport needs to play a bigger role in using research to improve our overall performances."

She added that she was honoured to be appointed the first female president of the federation.

"Hopefully, this can pave the way for future developments because there is a need to open doors for more women, to empower them and to encourage them to hold these sorts of positions of responsibility."

The federation is the governing body of university sport in Africa and was founded in 1971 by 10 African countries to improve the development of university sport on the continent.