adminRABAT. – The first South African captain to win the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) hopes the team’s stunning success in Morocco can bring together a nation undergoing social hardships back home.
Banyana Banyana won 2-1 against the hosts in the Moroccan capital on Saturday to finally lift the trophy after previously losing four finals.
With South Africans facing regular power cuts for the past six weeks and record unemployment levels, captain Refiloe Jane says she hopes the football success can bring some relief.
“I would say to all the South Africans out there we hope that this will unite the nation,” the 29-year-old midfielder told BBC Sport Africa.
“We hope that this brought back smiles in people’s faces and brought back hope.
“There’s so many things happening in our country, so I think today was one of those days where we saw a united South Africa. We’re hoping going forward we’ll get more and more people supporting Banyana Banyana.”
Jane, who says she “cried her lungs out” at the final whistle, is one of three women who shared the captaincy between them in Morocco, with goalkeeper Andile Dlamini – who went over six hours without conceding – and veteran Janine van Wyk also assuming the roles.
Coach Desiree Ellis, who played in the country’s first women’s international in 1993 and was part of the side that lost the first of their four finals, in 2000, picked up Jane’s theme, with one particular South African in mind.
“This is for the fans back home; the fans who have been behind us, who have sent messages, and some didn’t even get a chance to watch it, so this is for them,” said the three-tome African Coach of the Year.
“This is also for Thembi [Kgatlana]. We haven’t forgotten about you, Thembi, we did this for you as well. We said we were going to do it.
“You said to us when you got your injury, that the job is not done.”
Kgatlana, who starred at the last Wafcon tournament when finishing as both top scorer and best player, was denied the chance to atone for the 2018 final defeat when she was ruled out of the tournament with an Achilles injury in the group stages.
In the two games she did manage to play, she showed her blistering pace and sharp skills in the confidence-boosting opening 2-1 win over Nigeria and then when scoring in the 3-1 win against Burundi. – BBC Sport
Mathew Masinge
Online Reporter