Big sacrifice, bigger dreams

Lesego Maja

lesegomaja@caxton.co.za

“It’s something that needed to be done for me to be content with myself, my game and my studies.” This is how UJ student and former Banyana Banyana captain, Amanda Dlamini, motivated her decision to hand over her national captaincy.

In March, the Banyana Banyana midfielder made the hard decision of stepping down after a two-year tenure, in pursuit of her studies and future prospects. “It was one of the toughest decisions I had to make regarding my footballing career.”

Dlamini has since returned home to Harding, Kwa-Zulu Natal, where she plays for Durban ladies in the Sasol Provincial league.

The third-year road transport management correspondence student has given herself a solid back-up plan should anything hinder her soccer career. “Women’s sport still lacks the sponsorship needed to make a good living. So should anything happen, such as a career-changing injury, one should be able to continue having a full life through one’s chosen field.”

Dlamini owes the growing success of her soccer career to the days when she used to follow her brother and cousin to the fields where they usually played.

“One day I was asked to play because they were a man short and I grabbed that chance with both hands. At first it was just a hobby; little did I know the only little girl playing with boys would one day get this far,” and far, she has come.

At the age of 25 she managed 66 national squad appearances while scoring 21 goals in the process. Dlamini was also recently part of UJ’s triumph in the inaugural Varsity Football competition.

“The highlight of my tenure as captain was leading the first ever Banyana team to qualify for the Olympic Games in 2012.”

Through her newly established Amanda Dlamini Girls’ Foundation she wishes to impart knowledge and inspiration, encouraging young girls from rural areas to pursue their dreams.

“As a rural girl, I know how it feels to be isolated from all sporting activities. I felt the need to go out there and motivate these young girls not to give up, no matter what.”

Dlamini hopes to still be an integral part of South Africa’s plans to qualify for the 2015 Fifa Women’s World Cup and their quest to win the African Women’s Championship.