Former Banyana Banyana captain, Amanda Dlamini has been appointed as a Laureus Sport for Good Foundation ambassador.
Dlamini joins her previous coach Desiree Ellis and Bafana Bafana legend Lucas Radebe in an esteemed group of South African sporting icons after the announcement was made earlier today at the Mercedes-Benz & Laureus Sport For Good breakfast series hosted at Mercedes-Benz Umhlanga.
The former Banyana star was raised in the rural land of Harding in Kwa-Zulu Natal, and has achieved what most young people in the rural areas can only dream of. Her first encounter with soccer was at the age of 11 as a spectator of informal games played in her hometown before she was later promoted from spectator to being the only girl on the team and she never looked back.
She worked hard towards achieving her dream of playing in the women’s national team which came true in 2007 and she went on to captain the team from 2010 – 2013.
She retired from Banyana Banyana earlier in 2018 after an illustrious career spanning 11 years where she earned 105 caps.
She is passionate about empowering the youth and helping them realise their potential and looks to do this through the Amanda Dlamini Girls Foundation where she gives motivational talks to the youth.
The Amanda Dlamini Girls Foundation’s mission is to inspire young girls to make their dreams come true irrespective of their backgrounds and circumstances, by creating an enabling environment that will allow them to be empowered through the use of sports and educational life skills.
‘We would like to officially welcome Amanda to the Laureus family. Amanda has all the traits and qualities needed to be an ambassador and we look forward to working with her closely and having the children and youth in our programmes interact with her and benefit from her infectious energy and positive outlook on life. Amanda defied the odds, which makes her perfectly placed to motivate others across communities,’ said Laureus Sport for Good Foundation SA chairperson, Morné du Plessis, at the announcement,
‘It’s a huge honour for me to join this esteemed group of athletes from across the world as a Laureus ambassador. I am really looking forward to assisting them with the meaningful work that they do with the youth in communities across South Africa. The Laureus philosophy aligns perfectly with my mission for the Amanda Dlamini Girls Foundation which will create many opportunities to work together going forward,’ said a very proud Dlamini.
