10 Things You Didn’t Know About Portia Modise.

1. Modise was born in Soweto and started playing football with the boys in her neighbourhood. She chose football ahead of netball at school, and began playing with Soweto Rangers at under–10 level.

2. After playing for Rangers and the women’s section of Jomo Cosmos , Modise moved to Soweto Ladies in 1996.

3. Comfortable in either a midfield or forward role, Modise was nicknamed “Bashin” after the male footballer Albert “Bashin” Mahlangu.

4. In June 2007 Modise signed a two-year deal with Fortuna Hjørring in Denmark’s Elitedivisionen , after impressing during an initial one-month contract.

5. In 2005, Modise was one of two African footballers, alongside Perpetua Nkwocha , to be nominated for the Women’s FIFA World Player of the Year, which was won by Birgit Prinz .

6. In October 2014 Portia Modise became the first African player to reach the elusive 100-goal barrier in international football, when she scored her 99th and 100th goal in South Africa’s 5–1 victory against Algeria at the CAF African Women’s Championship.

7. On 19 May 2015, she announced her retirement from international football, after playing 124 matches and scoring 101 goals for South Africa.

8. In 2005–06 Modise was employed by Orlando Pirates as an academy coach. She left after seven months in February 2006 following a disagreement with her boss Augusto Palacios.

9. She was born June 20, 1996.

10. She has two brothers.

By Jimmy Modise.