"Indeed, as female footballers, we do value education highly because it's simple: We are not paid enough to make a living out of the game, whereas our male counterparts can play, say, for 10 or even five years and make enough money in order to make a living if they use their funds properly. So, there is a huge gap in terms of we know that we are not being paid well and the money that we make cannot sustain us for the rest of our lives or for a longer period of time, so we opt to navigate towards education. That is so that we are able to secure full-time jobs on the side, or even after football. We need that more than our male counterparts."

"I own it because it gives me so much pride in being a woman in a space mostly deemed as a men's sport."

"Oh, I love those people. They treat me like a human being – like a girl. Let me tell you when we go and do shoots, they just hire a whole makeup crew to pamper me and I love that."

"Life has been amazing, spending time with my family and that’s what I’ve been longing for many years, as you know as a professional athlete you travel a lot ... you don’t get time to sit down. I don’t know if players talk about it, I’m taking time to take care of my mental health."

"When I talk about mental health, I’m not saying I wanted to kill myself. You get tired as a person, that’s why there is sick leave, and people go on vacations, I needed that."

"There are many things that go on that people from the outside don’t understand, but as a person I understand myself, I know how I operate, I know when I need a break, I know when I’m having a breakdown, I know when my body says 'no' and when it says 'yes', so I have to listen to it."

"Before achieving everything that we achieved, we set goals and said this is what we want at this time. And we achieved everything, every goal that was set."

"Development is key. 100%."

"I demand more of myself and my teammates. I want to win things – this is where my teammates and I are supposed to show up. This is where we are supposed to show the world who we are, right?"

"I command and organise when needed. I also understand the need to encourage and push the team to stay on top of our game."

"Barriers are only in the mind. If you truly want something, do whatever it takes. Invest in yourself if you’re not getting the support you desire."

"There is always something that feels unfulfilled when I wake up."

"I’ve got something to do on this planet and whatever that purpose is keeps me going."

"It is extremely important to be mentally tough."

"When you come from the villages you don’t give up. We keep on working no matter what."

"It’s also about working hard and not giving up. Because when you love something you’ve got to go the extra mile."

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

"Football is a team sport, and I would not have achieved this without the incredible support of my coaches, teammates and family."

"Being nominated motivates me to push even harder, not just for myself but for my teammates and everyone who supports me. This nomination also inspires other kids to believe in themselves and work hard to achieve their dreams."

"I’m still the same humble Nthabiseng I was before. But definitely my life has changed a lot."

"A lot of these girls are discouraged. They have to choose between going to school and work or playing football."

"My advice to them is to work hard. Keep on pushing. Because success does not come without hard work."

"I know that it’s important to be educated, because football is a very short career."

"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."

"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."

"Soccer became my escape and comfort."

"Football teaches you how to behave on and off the field."

"As long as I keep going, nothing will stop me."

"Pressure is a privilege, and when our backs are against the wall, that is when we perform."

"I tell people I am a full-time worker and a part-time footballer. A lot of us have to take unpaid leave to play matches. But come game day you would never say we are not full-time players."

"The field wasn’t the greatest. The fact that they thought it was OK for us to play on it, was something we were not happy with. It was just about us being respected as athletes."

"What was beautiful was that we stood together and we knew what we were fighting for. We fought 23-strong. We knew if we stuck together no one could break us and that translated on to the field. Our bond is the strongest it’s ever been."

"We were so tired of being stepped on and not being heard."

"Like I said previously, I’ve worked hard to be where I am and I think my confidence grew and I show up every day and gave maximum effort."

"What has stood up for me the most is fighting for one another on the field even when I make a mistake my teammate is there to motivate me and that has kept me going and made me want to give my all."

"I started playing football when I was seven, mostly playing with boys at home."

"My flow of the game depends on the tempo."

"The positive energy and vibe that I bring into the team, by merely playing the drum, is very important to me."

"Football will speak for itself."

"I feel school is not for me. I quit last year, dedicating my life to football. I'm positive I'll have a successful career as a footballer."

"I decided to drop out because I wanted to spend more time playing football. So far, I have been able to focus on football the way I have always wished. I was an average learner."

"I think God only blessed me with football."