Banyana Banyana striker Thembi Kgatlana has completed a move to Spanish Primera Iberdrola outfit Eibar for the 2020-21 season.
The Caf Women’s Player of the Year parted ways with Benfica last week and joined Eibar on a free transfer, after putting pen to paper on a one-year contract with the club.
The 24-year-old managed to score three goals in only three appearances for Luis Andrade’s team to help them to the Portuguese Taca de Liga final and league diadem, but announced her departure from Benfica after the season was suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Kgatlana has become the latest South African to move to Spain after Nothando Vilakazi joined EDF Logrono and Amanda Mthandi signed for CDB Badajoz Feminino in recent weeks.
‘Thembi Kgatlana has become the latest reinforcement of the Eibar Sports Society women’s first team,’ read the statement on the club’s website as they confirmed the one-year deal.
‘The 24-year-old South African forward is an international for her country and in 2018 she was considered the best African player.’
La internacional sudafricana Thembi Kgatlana, nuevo fichaje armero para la #LigaIberdrola
Ongi etorri @Kgatlanathe1st! 👏https://t.co/hje4cJWBD2 pic.twitter.com/zfVvkA6O6p
— SD Eibar #DenokArmagin 💙❤️ (@SDEibar) July 21, 2020
Kgatlana helped Banyana Banyana qualify for their first-ever Fifa Women’s World Cup in France last year following her stellar performance at the AWCON tournament in Ghana in 2018, where Banyana lost to Nigeria on penalties in the final.
The Banyana Banyana star, who scored Banyana’s only goal in the World Cup, is a product of the Safa High Performance Centre and featured prominently for USA Houston Dash before moving to China’s Beijing BG Phoenix.
