Banyana Banyana veteran midfielder Refiloe Jane has officially completed a permanent move to Italian outfit AC Milan.
The 27-year-old veteran will be the first South African player to feature in the Italian Serie A and will be wearing the number 15 jersey for the 2019-20 season which kicks off on Saturday.
Jane has amassed over 100 appearances and has now got herself a move to the women’s top flight in Italy with a big-name club.
The midfielder has has a cast of experience having previously played for Colchester United LFC, Mamelodi Sundowns, Vaal University of Technology and Canberra United in Australia.
Jane has been a crucial player for both club and country and has managed to rack up over 100 appearances in the Green and Gold of South Africa.
The Banyana star says it has been a dream to play and Europe and is relishing the chance to showcase her talent in the Uefa Women’s Champions League.
‘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 told gsport4girls.co.za.
‘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.
‘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 added: 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.
