| Intro | South africa footballer |
| Is |
Athlete Football player Association football player |
| From | South Africa |
| Type | Sports |
| Gender | female |
| Birth |
17 April 1987, Alberton, Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality, Gauteng, South Africa |
| Age | 33 years |
| Star sign | Aries |
Janine van Wyk (born 17 April 1987) is a South African women’s footballer and plays as a defender. She plays for Houston Dash in the National Women’s Soccer League, and upon reaching 125 caps for the South Africa women’s national football team, she has become the most capped South African football player of any gender.
Early life
Van Wyk was born in Alberton, Gauteng. She grew up in Germiston and she started playing soccer at the age of 6. She attended Hoërskool Alberton, an Afrikaans medium school that did not play soccer. Her first girls team was Springs Home Sweepers based in KwaThema.
Career
Club
A few years later, she joined Mamelodi Sundowns and later, Palace Super Falcons from Tembisa, where she was part of a team that won three consecutive league titles. Van Wyk called her time with the Super Falcons “memorable”, and said that in the three league victories they were “untouchable”. She then founded her own club, modestly named JVW F.C.. She previously served as player-coach for the club. Fans of football have nicknamed her “Booth”. On December 21, 2016 she signed with the Houston Dash.
International
Van Wyk made her national team debut in 2005 against Nigeria in the African Women’s Championship. Van Wyk scored a stunning free kick when Banyana recorded their first ever win over Nigeria since the women’s national team was formed in 1993. Van Wyk scored the only goal of that match, with Banyana knocking Nigeria out of the 2012 African Women’s Championship. She was a member of the South African team who played at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom. She said she was proud to represent her country at an Olympic Games, despite the team being knocked out in the first round.
Van Wyk played her 100th cap for South Africa against Namibia, winning 2–0 in August 2014. At the time, she was not the most capped South African women’s player as her teammate Portia Modise won her 110th cap in the same match.
On 28 March 2016, she became South Africa’s most capped player (male or female) when she made her 125th appearance against Cameroon.