Ramalepe realises cherished dream

Banyana Banyana right-back Lebogang Ramalepe (right) says she is excited about joining Belarusian Women’s Premier League oufit Dinamo Minsk and finally getting to achieve her dream of playing football overseas.

The former Ma-Indies defender has had aspirations to get a chance abroad since she started playing and says she knew that one day she would make it.

“It’s a dream come true for me. I have been dreaming about taking my football to a higher level and I’m glad that it has finally happened. This is huge for me and my family is really proud of me,” said the defender.

“When you are a footballer you dream of playing against the best players. I’m really excited about this new journey and it will obviously open doors for many more opportunities in the future. “I always believed that my time would come because in the last few years, we have seen many Banyana players moving overseas. I never gave up as well.”

The Limpopo-born player has been playing in South Africa’s senior national women’s team since 2014.

She has since played for Banyana at the 2016 Rio Olympics and the 2019 Fifa Women’s World Cup in France.

She adds that playing at top competitions has helped many South African players get scouted and believes there will be more Banyana players going abroad.

“It’s pretty obvious when you are playing at big tournaments there are lots of people watching you. We played at the World Cup for the first time last year and people saw that there is talent in South Africa.”

Ramalepe concluded her move abroad last Friday along with Banyana teammate Rhoda Mulaudzi.

The two players will be playing in the same team with another teammate, Bambanani Mbane.