Mpumi Nyandeni

"I didn’t even think that I would reach 100, never mind 150. I was just playing soccer and representing my country. I was just doing what I love. I didn’t even expect that one day I will be one of the most capped players in senior women’s football. I was just playing soccer, being a girl from a rural area, just doing what I love, that’s why I said I feel blessed that I am amongst those legends in Africa."

"I’m proud of myself because I never thought that I would be where I am today."

"You know, that’s why I say hard work pays off. Just keep working. God will answer your prayers and just keep praying."

"When the young girls watch us on television they tell their parents, I want to play like Mpumi Nyandeni or Portia Modise… Thanks to the SABC and Hollywoodbets our games are now on television, if they can’t go to the stadium they can still see us and they know they can still watch women’s football. This will inspire them to play soccer because they are now able to see us and in that way, we inspire them to achieve their dreams and even achieve more than we have."

"I will say to the young, upcoming footballers, they need to work hard, stay disciplined and carry themselves (well). What is important is how to carry yourself and don’t forget to pray and work hard, because your hard work, is going to pay off. So they need to work hard and leave the friends that have bad habits."

"Choose your friends but focus on yourself and believe in yourself. So that is most important if you believe in yourself, no one can take that from you."

"The way I loved football, I just wanted to be around the football pitch; I would ref sometimes."

"I am a firm believer that discipline, hard work, and passion are the best form of ingredients for a player to last as long as I have in the game."

"For me, personally, no one has the audacity to come and tell me when I should retire because that person was not there when I started playing football."

"I will retire when my body is no longer able to carry me. I will retire on my own accord."

"Football is my world – without it, there’s little else for me. My passion for the game is boundless, and I aim to keep playing for as long as I can. That’s how deep my love for football runs."