Noxolo Cesane: Celebrating 50 with more to come
That is why on Monday, July 7 when she marched onto the Honneur Stadium pitch in Oujda, northern Morocco at the ongoing TotalEnergies Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) 2024 to make her 50th appearance in South African colours, a feeling of content engulfed her.
The 24-year old Cesane knows that she is lucky to play the game that she loves so much. She explained to CAFOnline exclusively after the game, 'Honestly, I am happy to have reached 50 caps in our South African national colours. It is an honour to be playing at the WAFCON. It has been an incredible journey to get to this point.'
The journey to 50
Like many a girl across the world, she kickstarted her journey by playing with boys in her neighbourhood before joining the Cape Town Roses with her twin sister Sinoxolo Cesane. Together, they rose through the ranks at junior level featuring for South Africa at the U17 and U20 levels.
It is that excellence that led her to being chosen to the senior national team making her debut at the tender age of 19 on August 5, 2019 at the COSAFA Women's Championship in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape in front of the home fans. She remembers it like it was yesterday.
South Africa head coach Dr Desiree Ellis who handed her, her first cap back reminisces, 'She was a revelation at that COSAFA Cup then came to the WAFCON in 2022 and made that fantastic pass to Jermaine [Seoposenwe] to score against Nigeria. She had a very good tournament then she went to the World Cup. She has really paid her dues. She then went overseas. Well deserved for a player who has really put in the work.'
Cesane is who she thinks she is. Her movement on and off the ball speaks to her quality. Ball control, confidence and overall a standout understanding of the game that helps her decision making on the pitch is what sets her apart from the crowd.
The impact and purpose at hand
'So many people look up to us because of where we come from. In Gugulethu, things look so crusty, so confusing and for me, I am grateful that I am able to represent them at the highest levels. It is important that they know that one has to work really hard to get what you want. Honestly, success does not really fall from the sky. You need to wake up early,' Cesane reflects on why playing football is important to her and her people back home.
'My sister and I together with other boys, we used to wake up early in the morning to go for practice. We were all so motivated to play the game and I am so proud of our journey. I am happy for them. Gugulethu is like a community, like a school. You learn a lot from the people there. They are all parents to us. If you are able to take all the lessons from them then we can succeed. That is the weapon to achieve our goals.'
WAFCON 2024
With the WAFCON 2022 title in the bag, Cesane is striving to make sure that South Africa defend their title and that journey began against Ghana. At stake were the three points to garner their confidence as a team going forward and indeed she together with her teammates did the work to ensure a 2-0 victory.
'This was a very important game for us to be able to move forward so it was really hard at the beginning but we made it through,' she adds. This is her third WAFCON having played her first in 2018 in Ghana when they went to the final and lost to arch-rivals Nigeria 4-3 on penalties after a goalless draw following extra time.
Her teammate Ramalepe who amassed 111 caps against Ghana said about her teammate Cesane, 'She is a good player. Since she came to Banyana Banyana, she has improved a lot. Now, she is able to understand the game so well and also I love her. She is a player that I look up to even though I am a senior to her and she is a junior in the team. There is a lot to learn from her. I think that she should continue doing the work and working for the country.'
What next?
When Cesane received a specialized souvenir 50th cap jersey from Ellis after the game, she had an ear-to-ear smile. 'My twin sister has been calling me and she is very happy. I am also happy for her.' Sinoxolo Cesane is currently featuring for Mazatlan Femenil in Mexican topflight league.
Former South African international Simphiwe Dludlu cum coach and broadcaster who was the analyst commentator for the world feed for this game told CAFOnline that, 'I have seen Noxolo and her twin sister [Sinoxolo] as 13 year olds dominating local women's football tournaments from Cape Town Roses (their first club) and they have have never stopped to accommodate anyone.'
'Noxolo has traveled the whole continent as an U17, U20 key player in the national team and grown her game into the senior team. Seeing her flourish with such class is a reward to me having worked with her from youth national teams. She has played in Europe, South America and now back in South Africa to continue the magic. I wish her even more longevity in the game. May she only change to elevate higher and higher into World Football. Well done superstar on your milestone for the Big 50 Caps.'
South Africa will take on Tanzania in their next Group C matchup on Friday, July 11 at 8pm local time at the Honneur Stadium in Oujda, Morocco.
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