Banyana Banyana’s star player, Refiloe Jane has officially signed on the dotted line for Italian side, AC Milan, as it was confirmed on Thursday, 5 September, and will be the first South African player to feature in the Serie A.
The midfield maestro who has been captaining the South African national team, replacing the injured Janine Van Wyk, has made a new stride in her career that has previously seen her play for Colchester United LFC, Mamelodi Sundowns, Vaal University of Technology and Canberra United in Australia.
With her ample experience on the field of play, Jane has been a vital player for both club and country – where she has over 100 appearances in the green and gold, and it came as no surprise when AC Milan came knocking on the door for her services.
It has been quite a journey for the Sowetan-born who made her big break at the Future Champions Tournament where she beat 1000 other children, most of them being boys, and found herself on a flight to Manchester where she got to train with Manchester City and Everton.
Today, Jane has the opportunity to fly the South African flag high upon her new appointment, and the player is extremely excited about the support and the interest that has been shown for women in sport in the country.
“The change in terms of women’s sports careers are taking a direction in the positive. We have seen that many women in sports are getting managerial roles in male-dominated areas or positions and also for women in sport they are getting recognised as athletes, as administrators and as followers of the sport,” Jane said.
“It’s also good for the sport in South Africa when there’s many women playing abroad of which that can also contribute positively to our nation – South Africa,” she added.
“We know that we want to compete amongst the best countries in the world in terms of sports and also in terms of women in sport, so the more support we get from the public and the more support that we get from corporate SA it means a lot and it adds so much value.”
She further went on to speak about her dream move to the Italian Giants.
“I’m so happy to be signed by a leading women’s team – AC Milan. It’s a dream come true to be able to play in Europe. I’ve never played in Europe before and it’s always been a dream of mine to be able to play in such big leagues and to be signed to such a big club.
“I want to thank everyone involved for making this possible. It means so much to me and having been in Italy a few weeks back I was able to see what they are about. I was able to see the girls and also meet the management and I’m so happy to be signing with a team that looks forward to playing in the Champions League next season, a team that looks forward to winning the Serie A,” she ended.
Photo 1 Caption: Banyana Banyana’s Refiloe Jane officially announced as an AC Milan player, moving from Australian side, Canberra. Photo: @a.c.milanfemminile on Instagram
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