Jermaine Seoposenwe will become the 10th Banyana Banyana centurion when she walks onto the pitch on Tuesday, 27 February 2024 to face Tanzania in the second leg third round 2024 Paris Olympic Games qualifier, which takes place at the Mbombela Stadium in Mpumalanga.
The Mexico-based forward will join an esteemed list of South African women footballers who have reached the milestone since Banyana Banyana’s first official match on 30 May 1993 against Eswatini.
Retired captain and defender, Janine van Wyk, leads the pack with 185 appearances – making her the most capped footballer on the African continent, female or male, after breaking an 11-year old record previously held by Egyptian Ahmed Hossam. She achieved this feat on 4 December 2023 in a 2-0 victory over Burkina Faso in the WAFCON qualifiers – it was also the same day she hung her boots.
Next on the list of the most-capped for the Sasol-sponsored Banyana Banyana is Noko Matlou (172), followed by Nompumelelo Nyandeni (149), Refiloe Jane (134), Nothando Vilakazi (137), retired Portia Modise (124), Mamello Makhabane (121), retired Amanda Dlamini (105) and Spain-based Leandra Smeda (100). Lebohang Ramalepe (97) is three shy away from joining the elite list.
LIST OF BANYANA BANYANA CENTURIONS:
| NAME OF PLAYER | CAPS | GOALS |
| JANINE VAN WYK (retired) | 185 | 12 |
| NOKO MATLOU | 172 | 66 |
| NOMPUMELELO NYANDENI | 149 | 39 |
| NOTHANDO VILAKAZI | 137 | 7 |
| REFILOE JANE | 134 | 16 |
| PORTIA MODISE (retired) | 124 | 101 |
| MAMELLO MAKHABANE | 121 | 22 |
| AMANDA DLAMINI (retired) | 105 | 24 |
| LEANDRA SMEDA | 100 | 22 |
| JERMAINE SEOPOSENWE | 99 | 21 |
| LEBOHANG RAMALEPE | 97 | 4 |
The 30-year old Seoposenwe made her international debut in 2010 against Zimbabwe, the same year she featured in the 2010 FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup in Trinidad and Tobago under coach Solly Luvhengo – alongside players like Robyn Moodaly, Nomvula Kgoale, Kaylin Swart, Jabulile Mazibuko and captain at the time, Rachel Sebati.
It would take Seoposenwe 7 years to clock half a century of games, which she celebrated on 22 January in 2017 against France in Saint-Denis, Reunion Islands – South Africa lost 2-0 on the day.
The Capetonian has netted 21 times for her country, but will best be remembered for her winning goal against Equatorial Guinea on 18 October 2015 in Bata after a goalless draw at the Makhulong Stadium in Tembisa in the first leg.
The strike earned Banyana Banyana a ticket to the 2016 Rio Olympic Games in Brazil – as the squad made its second appearance at the global showpiece after London 2012.
Over the last few years, Seoposenwe has been one of the most reliable and go-to players in the South African Senior Women’s National Team.
She was part of the squad that earned a second place at the 2018 CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Ghana, losing a hard-fought final against Nigeria on penalties.
But she would play a crucial role to help her country win their first continental title four years later in Morocco.
The forward is in the elite group of players in the Banyana Banyana squad to have played in three FIFA Women’s World Cup tournaments. She and goalkeeper Kaylin Swart were selected for the 2010 Trinidad and Tobago, 2019 France and more recently the 2023 Australia and New Zealand, while Karabo Dhlamini and Sibulele Holweni replaced 2010 with the Uruguay 2018 U17 Women’s World Cup.
Last year at the women’s world football spectacle in Australia and New Zealand, the Mexico-based Seoposenwe was among those who played a key role in helping the African Champions rewrite the history books when they qualified for the Round of 16 for the first time ever – becoming the only South African national team to do so.
At club level, she is currently registered with FC Monterrey in Liga MX Femenil, whom she joined after a stint at FC Juarez in the same country. She has already scored four goals for her new team in seven matches.
Seoposenwe has also played for Samford University while studying in the USA, and has also been on the books of Gintra Universitates (Lithuania), Betis (Spain) and Braga (Portugal).
Locally, she honed her skills at Santos Ladies in Cape Town before joining the University of the Western Cape (UWC) which at the time was campaigning in the Sasol League – and left the South African shores before the launch of South African elite women’s football, which is now known as the Hollywoodbets Super League.
Not one to bask in personal glory, uppermost on Seoposenwe’s mind will be to ensure her country progresses to the fourth and final round, more so as Banyana Banyana have taken a comfortable 3-0 lead against Tanzania from the first leg.
In that encounter, she opened floodgates, scoring in the 10th minute, before Thembi Kgatlana (57’) and Hilda Magaia (86’) joined in on the party at the Azam Complex Stadium in Dar es Salaam.
South Africa and the Twiga Stars do battle at the Mbombela Stadium in Mpumalanga, with a 19h30 kick-off.
An overall win will see them face either Nigeria or Cameroon in the next round in April, a fixture that will determine the identity of one of two representatives of the African continent at the Paris Olympic Games.
FACT FILE:
| Jermaine Seoposenwe | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Date of birth | 12 October 1993 (age 30) | ||
| Place of birth | Cape Town, South Africa | ||
| Height | 1.67m | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| TEAM INFORMATION | |||
| Current team | Monterrey | ||
| Number | 12 | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (GOALS) |
| 2014–2017 | Samford | 80 | (39) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2010 | Santos Ladies FC | ||
| UWC Ladies | |||
| 2019 | Gintra Universitetas | 1 | (3) |
| 2020 | Betis | 2 | (0) |
| 2020–2022 | Braga | 38 | (10) |
| 2022–2023 | Juárez | 20 | (6) |
| 2023– | Monterrey | 19 | (7) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2010– | South Africa | 99 | (21) |
BY MATLHOMOLA MORAKE
