Zanele Nhlapho

"We did apply ourselves and did everything we could to win, but sometimes when it is not your day, it’s not your day."

"Yes, we might sweat, but at the end of the day, we need to go out there and collect all three point."

"At 6 years old, football was very interesting for me. My family encouraged me to play and then I started playing with a girls’ team after playing in the streets for a long time."

"There are many players who wish to be in our place right now, we are very grateful to be here. And I feel it can open more opportunities for me, so I’m grateful."

"We are never taken seriously as female footballer, but I feel that this is changing gradually. We should be equal to men in this sport because we play it well."

"Every girl should keep on working hard because anything is possible in life. I never thought I’d end up here one day, but it’s possible. It happened for us, and it can happen for anyone. And never neglect your school, school comes first along with football. Education will make you accomplish your dreams, so take your future seriously, that’s what I tell our youngsters in the team."

"I went through a lot in my life, it was never easy. You need to be disciplined in your life, to focus, take responsibility and work harder than you can, that’s what I did and will keep doing."

"As coaches, we are genuinely delighted with the remarkable form displayed by our girls. We take immense pride in their techniques, solid positioning and growing tactical awareness. It brings us great satisfaction to witness their diligent implementation of the training sessions. Naturally, we are also thrilled with their consistent winning performances. However, as coaches, we recognize the importance of preventing complacency and nurturing a hunger for continuous success. It is our responsibility to guide and motivate them towards reaching new heights and achieving even greater accomplishments."

"We work for one another; we die for another on that field of play. It doesn’t matter who is playing or not playing. Whoever is chosen does the job. Even when the coaches change things up and bring in new players, you cannot see who has been subbed off and who has replaced them."