Banyana star chosen as Danone ambassador

Banyana Banyana star attacking midfielder, Amanda Dlamini, has been appointed the ambassador of the U12 Danone Nations Cup southern Africa soccer tournament.

Dlamini, who is currently in camp preparing for the Olympic Games, will start her official duties on 25 June when she attends the Danone Nations Cup national finals at the WJ Clements Stadium in Reiger Park.

This is where the school that will represent South Africa in the world finals of the competition will be chosen through intense games between nine provincial finalists.

At this event, she will motivate the participating teams to believe in their dreams and how important it is to develop healthy lifestyles and how this will impact on their football careers.

“We are delighted that Amanda has agreed to join the Danone Nations Cup family,” said Chantel Ehlers, communication specialist at Danone.

“She is an excellent role model to our young up and coming players. She is driven, works hard and is a great motivator. She epitomises what the Danone Nations Cup stands for, which is fair play, openness, pleasure of the game and friendship.”

Dlamini captained Banyana Banyana from 2010 to 2013 before she resigned to concentrate on her university studies and also focus on her game. In that time, she helped the women’s national team to silver medals at the 2011 Cosafa Cup and the 2012 African Women Championships.

She also led the team to the 2012 Olympic Games in London – the first time South Africa had participated in the event. She hails from rural KwaZulu-Natal where she started off in the game playing with and against boys.

In 2013, she established the Amanda Dlamini Girls Foundation aimed at inspiring 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.

“Working with the youth is very close to my heart, hence, I started my foundation. The majority of the kids who play in this tournament are from rural schools, like me. My humble beginnings have made me realise the importance of developing a good set of values and a strong moral code to conquer life and make my dreams come true,” Dlamini said.

She joins an illustrious group of world stars who are the ambassadors of the tournament. Former French star and current Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane is the global ambassador of the competition, while the national ambassadors include Dimitar Berbatov (Bulgaria), Gheorghe Hagi (Romania) and Carlos Tévez (Argentina), just to name a few.

After the national finals, she will assist the winning team leading up to the world finals taking place in Paris, France between 14 and 16 October.