Nompumelelo "Mpumi" Nyandeni (born 19 August 1987) is a South African women's footballer and plays as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. She played for

WFC Rossiyanka WFC Rossiyanka was a Russian women's football club from Khimki. History The team was founded in 1990 as Nadezhda Krasnoarmeysk, being initially a futsal club. Futsal was played until 1998, when the club left it to concentrate in association fo ...

in Russia at a club level before returning to South Africa, where she now plays for

JVW FC JVW F.C. is a women's professional soccer club based in Bedfordview, Gauteng. The team competes in the SAFA Women's League, the top tier women's football league in South Africa The First Team competes at the highest level of women's football in ...

. Mpumi has represented the

South Africa women's national football team The South Africa women's national soccer team, nicknamed ''Banyana Banyana'' (The Girls), is the national team of South Africa and is controlled by the South African Football Association. Their first official match was held on 30 May 1993 agai ...

149 times, including at both the

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

and 2016 Summer Olympics. In 2010, she took part in a FIFA campaign for improving health through recreational football together with players such as

Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Portugal national team. He is currently a free agent. Widely regarded as one of the greatest p ...

Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the ...

, and Didier Drogba.

Club career

Mpumi Nyandeni came through the Mpumalanga-based Detroit Ladies youth system. While a youth player, she competed with older players for positions in the senior side. She subsequently transferred to

in the

Russian Women's Football Championship The Russian Women's Football Championship (russian: Чемпионат России по футболу среди женщин), also known as the Top Division and the Women's Football League, is the highest professional women's football league ...

. In 2011, she was selected by FIFA as one of a side of 11 international players to promote health issues among young people; others in the list included

and

. While at Rossiyanka, she met Refiloe Jane for the first time, who had been inspired by Nyandeni and would later also become a South African international.

International career

Nyandeni was called up to the

during the qualification matches for the 2012 Summer Olympics in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, United Kingdom. She was disappointed to be dropped from the squad, which she attributed to her fluctuating form, but was recalled and later played for South Africa in three matches at the Games itself. She has since become one of the most experienced players for the South African team, being one of four players alongside

Janine van Wyk Janine van Wyk (born 17 April 1987) is a South African professional soccer player who plays as a defender for her own club in South Africa JVW and captains the South Africa women's national team. She is the highest capped player in South Afri ...

, Amanda Dlamini and

Noko Matlou Noko Alice Matlou (born 30 September 1985) is a South African professional soccer player who plays as a defender for Spanish Primera Federación side SD Eibar. She has represented the South Africa women's national team both as a striker and ...

who have more than 100 caps each. She was selected once again for the squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

, Brazil.

International goals

''Scores and results list South Africa's goal tally first''

References

Living people 1987 births Women's association football midfielders South African women's soccer players South Africa women's international soccer players Footballers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic soccer players for South Africa FIFA Women's Century Club Footballers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Expatriate women's footballers in Russia WFC Rossiyanka players Women's association football forwards South African expatriate women's soccer players {{SouthAfrica-women-footy-bio-stub