'Disappointed to go home empty-handed' - South Africa captain after WAFCON 2024 defeat

The captain of Banyana Banyana of South Africa, Refiloe Jane was disappointed with her team fourth-place finish at the just concluded 2024 CAF Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON).

The 2024 WAFCON is the first time in three editions that South Africa has failed to secure a podium spot, having previously won gold in 2022 and silver in 2018.

Banyana Banyana were edged out of third place by Ghana in a penalty shootout, loosing 4-3 after the bronze medal match ended 1-1 in regulation time on Friday.

Jane was quoted by SAFA website expressing her disappointment, acknowledging the efforts of the players.

She said, "Obviously, we are disappointed to be going home empty-handed. Throughout the tournament it wasn’t an easy one for the players, and there were a lot of challenges on and off the pitch. But we tried to put in a great performance, we tried to do our level best, and we tried to retain the trophy as the main objective."

Jane, who played all six matches in the tournament, now shift her attention to the next WAFCON.

"But going home now there’s a lot of work still to be done and we’re hoping that come the next WAFCON, which is very important, it’s a World Cup qualifying tournament, we hope that we can do well. But firstly we need to do well in the qualifiers,” she added.

The midfielder emphasised that the team is currently undergoing a period of transition, with several changes expected within the squad.

"Given the situation within camp, given the players that we had and a lot of transition that was taking place in the team, we’re hoping that a lot of positives can be taken from this tournament and build on that,” Jane explained.

The Banyana Banyana squad is scheduled to return home to South Africa on Monday evening.