Zanele Mdodana
Zanele Mdodana is a South African Netball player. She played in the Commonwealth Games in 2006, 2010 and 2014, as well as for the South African National Team, the SPAR Proteas, for 10 years. She has 82 caps for South Africa and has also participated in one World Cup.
Zanele was a senior player in the team, and was captain and vice-captain of the SPAR Proteas. People see her as an international star, a mentor, a role model and an all-round success story in South Africa; Zanele is a true role model for girls in South Africa.
She was born in New Brighton and raised in the Eastern Cape in Port Elizabeth. Zanele credits her primary school teacher for pushing her to play the sport that would one day make her an international star. Later in her career she also received a full bursary to study at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) and did a Sports Management degree, majoring in netball.
After her retirement in 2015, Zanele established herself as one of the top sports coordinators at NMMU. Following this, she became the first Black Head Coach of Maties Netball at the University of Stellenbosch. In 2019 she was awarded Maties Team Coach of the Year. Zanele urges young girls to prioritise their education, keep participating in sport and strive to achieve their dreams and goals.
Zanele is also a netball analyst for SuperSport and she has a 12-year-old son called Zukolwakhe.
