MAMA AFRICA

Coach Desiree Ellis is the heartbeat of the Banyana Banyana football team.

Photos: BackpagePix By: Herman Gibbs

BANYANA Banyana coach Desiree Ellis’s legend will be indelibly engraved in the annals of South African football folklore after she led her team to their maiden Women’s African Nations championship title in Rabat, Morocco, at the weekend.

This was the icing on the cake after the 59-year-old had earlier been crowned the continent’s Women’s Coach of the Year for the third successive year at the Confederation of African Football (Caf) Awards gala at the Mohamed VI Technical Centre just days before the final.

Ellis saw off the challenges of Bruce Mwape (Zambia), Jerry Tshabalala (Mamelodi Sundowns) and Reynald Pedros (Morocco).

A former long-serving Banyana Banyana captain, Ellis was initially appointed in an interim capacity in 2016, taking over the reins from the Netherlands’ Vera Pauw. Two years on, she was appointed head coach of the South African national women’s team on a full-time basis.

She’s not once looked back, and Banyana has since scaled new heights in becoming a genuine force on the African continent. Under the Salt River-born coach’s guidance, Banyana reached the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) final for the first time in a decade in 2018, with only a penalty shoot-out denying them victory against Nigeria’s Super Falcons.

It was Banyana’s fourth loss in the African showpiece, following previous defeats in 1995, 2000 and 2008. Ellis was part of the teams that suffered heartbreak in the first two finals.

After guiding Banyana to the 2018 final in Ghana, Ellis won the Africa Women’s Coach of the Year for the first time. An honour that was bestowed again on her the following year after leading Banyana Banyana to a first-ever Fifa World Cup berth at France 2019.

By reaching the semi-finals in Morocco, Ellis and her team will now also make back-to-back Fifa Women’s World Cup appearances in Australia and New Zealand next year.

South African women’s football. Her coaching is the inspiration that drives the national team. But despite the plaudits streaming in, she remains as humble as ever by paying tribute to her team.

“It means a lot to the whole of South Africa, to the coaches and players that have come before. This is for everyone that is connected to women’s football. Most importantly, the players were absolutely brilliant,” said Ellis.

“We always say when the team does well, the individual stands out. This is a team award because as a coach you work with a team, so if the team does well, the individual stands out.”

LEFT: Ellis receives the Coach of the Year (Women) award for the third successive year at the 2022 CAF Awards in Morocco.

RIGHT: Ellis is a role-model for everyone in her community and the entire country at large.