Experienced South Africa international Jermaine Seoposenwe recently confirmed she has retired from international duty.
The 31-year-old represented Banyana Banyana for 15 years, playing 115 games with a return of 20 goals in the process. His last assignment was in the recently concluded WAFCON in Morocco, where she helped the country finish fourth.
In her latest interview on #MSW94.7, Seoposenwe has revealed what pushed her to walk out on the national team.
‘I don’t want to be unhappy'
“It’s tough to walk away from my teammates, tough to walk away from the people of South Africa, and how they’ve supported me. And before I go any further, I want to thank them for all, the messages that they’ve sent me and just the love that they showed me over the years. And so, it’s tough to make that decision. But it’s something I feel like I had to do at the end of the day,” she stated.
“The emotional side of it, I just want to love football, like, I don’t want to be unhappy. I don’t want to continue to struggle for things that as a national team player, you deserve. And so, I just think for my happiness, for my wellbeing, I don’t want to lose the love for football as well and I think I was also beginning to lose that love for football and kind of growing resentment for football.
“I think that’s not something I’ve experienced anywhere, maybe I think a little bit in Spain, but it’s just a feeling that I don’t want to feel. And so, I was like, it’s time for me to go at the end of the day. if you are happy in a certain environment, I think that’s how I feel in Mexico. That’s how I feel within; real happy, vibrant, just a completely different person,” she added.
‘I am shell of myself with Banyana Banyana'
“Then coming back to the national team, you know, seeing myself, it’s crazy to me sometimes, just to sit down with myself and just know the difference in how I feel when I’m with my team in Mexico, and then why I’m in the national team, it’s not who I am,” Seoposenwe continued.
“I think for the couple of games that I’ve been back as well, I think people who really know me can see that I’m a shell of myself within the national team, and so I just didn’t want to be that person anymore. I know what I can bring to the national team. I know what I mean to my teammates and the people of South Africa.
“I just felt like out of respect for everyone that’s involved within the national team and the people of South Africa, and just the performances that I feel like I’ve given since I gotten back, is just not up to my standard,” the attacker further explained.
‘It is not who I am'
“If I am going to be this person, then what’s the use of continuing to basically force myself to come and play football, which is a thing that I love so much, like, out of everything, besides my family and friends. Something I love so much, is the passion that I have for the game, everything that I’ve put into it, it’s not who I am. I just felt like it’s best that I walk away and not decline in football.”
Seoposenwe then alleged it is SAFA and the coaching staff to blame, for her decision to quit Banyana Banyana.
“The association, the coaching, and the culture are why I’m retiring! If we, as a nation, say we love football as much as we say we do, then we have a responsibility to bring change. My hope is that my retirement will start a necessary conversation, one that we have been ignoring for years,” she posted.
“But if it doesn’t, I have done my part! And I will fight for change in whichever way I can, because the next generation deserves that. Just like the people before me forged a path for me to be where I am today, so will I.”
