Banyana Banyana legend Mpumelelo “Mbuzi Skito” Nyandeni, who was recently recalled to the national team with the hope of reaching the milestone of 150 caps, is juggling between two permanent careers, coupling as a professional football star and a delivery driver.
At 8am she reports for work at a Johannesburg-based factory. Then after knocking off at 4pm, she hurries to her apartment, changes from work suits into sports gear and heads straight to training with her JVW FC teammates at 6.30pm.
With three mouths to feed back home in Dennilton, Mpumalanga, the 37-year-old midfield maestro says she has dedicated her time to her two jobs as her livelihood depends on that.
“As much as juggling between these two jobs might sound difficult, I enjoy every moment, whether behind the steering wheel or in the field of play,” says Nyandeni, who has been a delivery driver for seven years.
Nyandeni turned professional at 14 in the colours of the Mpumalanga’s Kwaggafontein-based side Detroit in 2002. The club she captained was part of the inaugural Sasol Women’s League in 2009, which saw her club crowned inaugural winners.
“Those were memorable days. I still vividly remember that final match when we beat Durban Ladies 4-2 in a penalty shootout. That was after the match ended 2-all,” recalls Nyandeni, who was the league’s joint top goal scorer with Andisiwe Mgcoyi after they both rattled the net 27 times in 2021.
Winning the Sasol Women’s League title with Detroit was a consolation for Nyandeni, who had in the earlier years gone for the trials at Arsenal Ladies team in England but only to be disadvantaged by her age. Her dream to play overseas, however, became a reality in 2010 when she was signed by the Russian-based side, FC Rosiyanka and went on to become the first South African female player to play in the Uefa Women’s Championships before she returned home to South Africa and joined JVW FC in 2016.
With 149 caps under her belt in the country’s senior national team, Banyana Banyana, Nyandeni has been included in the team’s forthcoming two-legged friendly international matches at home against Malawi, with the first match played yesterday (April 5) at the University of Johannesburg (Soweto Campus) and another one due on April 8 at the same venue.
“I am very thankful to coach Desiree Ellis. Not only will these matches allow me to reconnect with Banyana’s teammates but it will also allow me to earn my 150th cap and become the third most capped player in the team,” says the ecstatic Nyandeni, whose last call in the national team was in 2019. Janine Van Wyk and Noko Matlou are the most capped Banyana Banyana players with 185 and 176 games respectively.
