Africa’s most capped international player, Janine van Wyk, has officially called time on her career as a player.

On Monday, the 36-year-old former captain of Banyana Banyana broke the African record for the most capped player in both men’s and women’s international football by earning her 185th cap.

She better the record of the Egypt international Ahmed Hassan, who won 184 caps and was a stalwart for the Pharaohs between 1995 and 2012.

Van Wyk started the game as the captain for one last time, and she was substituted after only seven minutes in Banyana’s 2-0 win over Burkina Faso at the Lucas Moripe Stadium in Atteridgeville.

Van Wyk said it’s been quite the journey, but it all boils down to hard work and dedication.

“Nothing worth having comes easy,” said the South African sport legend.

“If you really want to be professional, you've got to work for it. You have a lot of sacrifices that you have to make and you've got to be self-disciplined. It's tough to wake up every single day and grind to achieve your dream.

“It's not an easy journey, you've going to have to face some throughout and some challenges, but it's these kinds of moments that makes everything worthwhile, so I'm very proud of that.”

Van Wyk made her international debut for South Africa back in 2005 against the Super Falcons of Nigeria.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport