Portia Modise is a South African women's footballer who was
named Player of the Championship at the 2006 Women's African Football Championship.
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Football veteran, Portia Modise, wants to motivate women
into achieving more on the field. Source:
YouTube
She represented the South Africa women's national football team
at the 2012 London Olympics. She became the first African player to score 100
international goals.
She has played for various teams throughout her career
including Soweto Rangers, Soweto Ladies, Fortuna Hjørring (a women's
association football team in Denmark), Palace Super Falcons and Croesus Ladies.
Modise was captain of the South Africa under–19 national
team (Basetsane Basetsane) when she was called into the senior squad (Banyana
Banyana). In the 2000 Women's African Football Championship, she featured in
all South Africa's games, scoring her first goal against Zimbabwe as well as
playing in the tournament final, which ended in a defeat to Nigeria.
Game recognition
In 2005, Modise was one of two African footballers,
alongside Perpetua Nkwocha, to be nominated for the Women's FIFA World Player
of the Year.
At the 2006 Women's African Football Championship, she
scored a goal in the third-place final playing for South Africa against Cameroon
and was named Player of the Championship. She was also voted in the top three
for the 2006 CAF Women's Footballer of the Year award and was selected to play
for the All-Stars squad in the match preceding the official draw for the 2007
FIFA Women's World Cup.
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Portia Modise is South Africa’s most successful soccer
player. Source: Twitter
Modise had 71 goals in 92 international caps heading into
the 2012 Olympic football tournament. In South Africa's first match at the
games, a 4–1 defeat to Sweden in Coventry, Modise scored a goal from inside the
centre circle.
October 2012 saw Modise named in the South African squad for
the 2012 African Women's Championship. It was reported that she could reach her
milestone 100th appearance during the tournament, should Banyana Banyana reach
the semi-finals. Modise played a key role in South Africa's run to the final.
In October 2014 Portia Modise became the first African player to reach the elusive 100-goal barrier in international football, when she scored her 99th and 100th goal in South Africa's 5–1 victory against Algeria at the CAF African Women's Championship.
In 2015, she announced her retirement from
international football, after playing 124 matches and scoring 101 goals for
South Africa.
Also read: Hope for women’s soccer league
During the press conference that announced her retirement
from professional football she said, "I have been a soldier for my country”.
Modise now plans on focusing her energy on coaching and giving back to the
community. “I want to motivate women into achieving more than I did and I want
to see a professional league,” she concludes.
Portia Modise is South Africa’s most successful soccer
player. She’s the most capped female player and the top goal scorer.
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