Banyana Banyana head coach Desiree Ellis says her third CAF Women’s Coach of the Year is a collective effort as she paid homage to local football.
Ellis who has led Banyana to back-to-back FIFA World Cup’s and Women’s Africa Cup of Nations finals was named the 2022 Coach of the Year after winning the title in 2018 and 2019.
While the awards had a two-year hiatus, Ellis was back on the podium while Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies who won the inaugural Women’s Champions League were crowned Team of the Year.
Speaking in the official press conference after the prestigious event in the capital city of Morocco, Ellis said the honour is a representation of the hard work being done by the players and the coaches back home.
“This for me is not really an individual award, 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,” Ellis said in Rabat at the Mohamed VI Complex on Thursday evening.
“I dedicated this award to the Banyana team and the coaches in [South African] women’s football because of the contribution they have made to the national team for me to win this award.”
She went on to praise the support from the South African Football Association and the team sponsor Sasol for their roles in helping Banyana towards yet another continental final, stating they’ve made their journey a pleasant one from the start.
“First the confidence given by them in us, the support is not just going to the president but the technical director during matches, getting feedback and also we had some challenges here and we picked up the phone at the CEO assisted us, they have been tremendous in giving us support,” Ellis said.
“You can get appointed and not get support in that way, as you can see over the past four years the team has really grown and that’s through the efforts of SAFA and Sasol – making it possible to play top opposition all the time, to get ready for competitions as well. I think going forward that will continue.
Ellis will be aiming to lead South Africa to their first-ever WAFCON title when they face tournament hosts Morocco at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium at 21h00.
