'I needed to be strong for others': Banyana keeper Dlamini on being benched at World Cup

Banyana Banyana goalkeeper Andile 'Sticks' Dlamini has insisted there was nothing untoward about her being left on the bench in all four matches Banyana played at the 2023 Fifa Women's World Cup that's coming to an end with a final between England and Spain on Sunday.

For many followers of Banyana, it was expected that coach Desiree Ellis would stick with Dlamini in goals seeing that the Mamelodi Sundowns player was voted the best shot-stopper when Banyana won the Women's Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco last year.

In the end though, it all worked out well for Ellis as she preferred Kaylin Swart at the World Cup where Banyana became the first South African team to reach the last 16 at the global tournament.

Asked this week how she felt about being benched the whole tournament, a jubilant Dlamini, who became the life of the team behind the scenes — leading it in singing ahead of games — said she enjoyed the role she played in the team.

“If you know who you represent and who you are, I think you'll understand the people that you're representing. In that dressing room I wasn't the only one to keep the spirits high,” said the Banyana goalie who had a heart problem that threatened her career for six months in 2021.

“This is a team sport and I'm given talent and when you have it you need to use it in a positive way. I might not have played but 'I was playing on that field'. I was an extra man on that bench .

“I needed to be strong for others. I believe so much in positivity. Why do I? It's because one can perform to the best of their abilities if they're happy. And I believe that in this tournament we had so many things that we were dealing with that people put a blind eye on instilling positivity.

“So, what is my role as Andile Dlamini? Who do I represent? As Andile Dlamini I need to walk and sing because God gave me that blessing. I can sing for days. 

“God gave me that blessing and so I needed to use it. Actually I'm not the only one (in the team), Kholosa (Biyana) is another one. There's a famous song that we sang, which is Athandwe. That song I didn't teach myself that song. I was afraid of that song.

“But guess what, my teammates said you can. I believe that we are who we are today because of unity. When you're united nothing can break you. Even outside factors can't break you.

“Fortunately I'm very, very strong and nothing can break me. I stand tall and I believe in who I am and what I represent. Today I would like to say so many things happened and mental health is something that we need to be cautious of. In our department (goalkeepers) we were affected because a lot of people put so much negativity. 

“I'm not a negative person, I'm a believer in positivity and nobody can tell me I needed to do things this way. No. Not unless you're a coach of course. 

“But I believe in a spirit of ubuntu and in some situations I feel like right now communication is very key. If you want to solve something as quickly as possible, communicate so that you break negativity.

“So I believe in positivity and I believe when we sang that song Athandwe that's when we touched the world. We kept on coming with all of those songs and they'll remember us for the performance and for the singing.

“We didn't go there to make numbers but we went there to make a difference and to make that little girl proud.”