"You don’t have to leave where you’re from. Access and opportunities should come to you, to elevate your career and give you a chance. Leaving home wasn’t easy; leaving my parents behind and chasing this football dream. But when I made it, my life changed."

"I managed to get into university because of football."

"All the players who are based abroad are ambassadors and we need to set good examples and standards for those that are back home or those that will follow in our footsteps, so yes there is a lot of pressure on all of us – but it is the kind that motivates us to well and represent our country in a most outstanding way. To be honest, I am excited and nervous at the same time – excited about the move, but also nervous that I am going to a new country, which means new beginnings. This is a really a dream come true"

"I had good mentors around me."

"The first game is where you push. No matter what happens, how bad the result or score is, but if you push in the first game, that’s when you’ll realise you can push in the second as well."

"I think when you go there, you must be brave and be tough. When you start to be nervous and you see players who have long been playing in the World Cup, you won’t cope."

"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."

"I think showcasing our talent and competing on a global stage will definitely bring positive change into the sport."

"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."

"The women’s game in Africa has seriously evolved. Five or six years ago, when we were still playing, things were different. Today’s players enjoy more financial incentives, programs, and better opportunities."

"I believe that Africa has quality and phenomenal talent that clubs abroad are benefitting from because of the lack of high-level competitions in our respective countries."

"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."

"Football is my life and I wouldn't want to live without it. Every day is an opportunity to get better, whether you are injured and you want to heal to get better, or you don't have confidence and you need to be that better player."

"I want to help develop young girls -- and not necessarily [only] young girls, but players in general, and just share my expertise and my knowledge that I have gained over the years to other female football players."

"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 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."

"I just take every day as a new opportunity for me to be a better player and give the best I can towards the game."

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

"Equal pay isn’t just about salary. Are we getting equal platforms? Equal access? Equal broadcasting rights? Women’s football must be visible for people to know about it."

"White girls played hockey and netball but my love was always football."

"I believe that women have an inner strength and are able to accomplish anything we put our minds to. Be yourself, be a leader, be courageous and strong, take risks and trust that you can achieve anything you want."

"The nearest women’s team I could play for was in a township and as the only white girl it was difficult at first. I had to learn a different culture and background and a whole different language of the game. I had never seen such living conditions in my life. Some of the girls didn’t have any shoes or football boots and I was getting football boots every second or third month. It made me realise how privileged I was and what I had."

"The core principle of the dream was to create opportunities for girls of all ages to play football in a comfortable environment, where each player is encouraged and motivated to participate and give their best according to their ability."

"At first it was really difficult to fit in. The boys wouldn't pass me the ball, they didn't accept me into the team so I was kind of isolated from everything."

"When I was younger, there were many times when I felt isolated and not part of the team because I am a woman. There have been so many barriers but I have continuously let my passion and my love of the game shine through."

"The reason I continued was the determination of wanting to do well. I knew I had it in me to be a good player. I wasn't weak, I could kick a ball and I just loved playing the game."

"You know, when you see yourself being able to compete against boys you automatically become confident in yourself as a girl."

"Nothing worth having comes easy and I worked hard to make my dream a reality."

"The self-interest route of navigating the industry needs to die a natural death; not only in fashion but in the entertainment industry as a whole"

"We first need to examine the problems and faults that led to their downfall in the first place. We also need to acknowledge the need for research and development for a more vibrant and competitive textile industry. We have the potential to innovate and change the game. Our continent is rich in resources and we need to start exploring these opportunities"

"We need to start trading with each other, we need affordable transporting services, we need to have more flexible immigration practices and laws and affordable airfare around to travel across African states"

"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."

"No road to success is smooth."

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

"We need to embrace the importance of the law for the fashion industry, realize our weaknesses and find solutions. We also need to embrace the business approach to enable the fashion industries to thrive"

"We also need to build strong associations so that the industry speaks with one voice. These associations need to be properly constituted with skilled personnel who have a passion for the industry. They should include lawyers, economists, accountants, marketers etc. Only then shall these associations yield fruit"

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

"I believe in living a life that’s free of the fear of judgement, the fear of criticism and the fear of not being enough. And when fear does creep in, I confront it and fight back against it."

"It is tough gaining the trust of clients as a new entrant and as an entrepreneur; one needs to find outlets to sustain cash flow when the chips are down. Fortunately, I have had the luck of balancing my business ventures with freelance work opportunities in modelling and television"

"What’s really lacking in the political parties opposing the current leading party is a lack of effective direction. I don’t know what they stand for and how they wish to achieve what they say they want to achieve. All I know is that they hate the ANC and that’s not good enough"

"Give us a dream and a strategy to believe in followed by quality representatives based on merits to turn that vision into reality. Remember Obama's ‘Yes We Can’ campaign. I’m not American but he sold a new America to me. We really need this kind of energy in our country"

"South Africa weighs heavy on my heart. One of the most beautiful countries in the world — the food, weather, people, diverse cultures, parties, experience. I don’t understand how we have fallen so bad. The quality of life is horrendous! People are suffering, hustling day to day"

"It is much easier to start a business conversation when people recognise who you are. Of course there will be skeptics who question your intellectual range and ability to perform. It is how you navigate the polarities"