Banyana Banyana captain Refiloe Jane has opened up on sealing qualification for the Olympics ahead of the back-to-back 2028 Olympic Games qualifiers against Madagascar in Bloemfontein.
The first match is on Friday at the Free State Stadium with the second one on Tuesday 13 October at the same venue both kicking off at 18:00.
- ALSO READ: SAFA Explains Behind Closed Doors Banyana/Madagascar Clash
- Banyana Forward Seals Big Saudi Move
The LA Games qualifiers are the first time Banyana will be in action since the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations where they exited at the quarter-finals stage and failed to book an automatic qualification for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Desiree Ellis’ charges received a bye in the first round of the qualifiers while Madagascar beat South Sudan in the round to set-up a meeting with South Africa.
The 2022 Africa champions will be looking for a better showing after missing out on the last two successive Olympic Games in Tokyo and Paris respectively whilst they still have the task of qualifying for the World Cup.
Jane also stressed out the importance of doing well and advancing for the team
“Well, it’s going to be important to make sure that in the first leg we do so well,” Jane told Safa.net.
“Get the important result because you don’t want to put yourself under pressure. We know we haven’t qualified for Olympics in such a long time, and the journey to qualifying is a very long one. So, we have to take it one game at a time.”
“It’s important to qualify we know when we play in big tournaments, it opens more doors for the players and for the development of women’s football in our country.”