Refiloe Jane: Banyana Banyana will fight until the end

South Africa secured a convincing 2-1 win over Nigeria in the CAF playoff after both teams missed out on automatic qualification for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, following their quarter-final exits at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.

Jane says the team’s unity and fighting spirit finally yielded the positive result they were looking for.

“We reminded ourselves that it is not over. As much as we didn’t have a great tournament, we kept on fighting. I am pleased that we displayed a good performance, there was unity and great team spirit, which yielded the positive result that we wanted against Nigeria. It is going to be a long road to the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, with the playoffs ahead of us, but we fight until the end,” said Jane.

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The 34-year-old admits that the 2026 WAFCON was a challenging tournament for Banyana, who won just two of their five matches. She says the team also regrets missing out on automatic World Cup qualification as the 2022 champions.

“It wasn’t a successful tournament for the team. We came here with the objective of qualifying for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup. We started quite slowly, but I am happy the team picked up and secured an important spot in the playoffs,” added Jane.

Banyana will now turn their attention to preparations for the intercontinental playoffs, which will take place in the coming months. The preliminary phase is set to be played at a centralised venue, with six teams ranked according to the latest FIFA rankings.

Jane says the team must remain united and continue fighting for their World Cup dream.

“I just want us to stay together and keep on fighting. We need to tell ourselves that it is not over yet. It’s a long road ahead of us, but we don’t give up until the end,” she expressed.