Banyana Banyana head coach Desiree Ellis has been named Women’s Coach of the Year at the 2022 Confederation of African Football Awards in Rabat, Morocco. It is the third time that she has won the award.
Under her stewardship, Banyana Banyana has made it to the final of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations tournament where they will face Morocco on Saturday evening. Banyana Banyana also qualified for the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
The 59-year-old Ellis had previously won the prestigious award in 2018 after turning around the fortunes of the South African national senior women’s team.
A former Banyana player and captain, Ellis replaced Vera Pauw on an interim basis in 2016, while the South African Football Association searched for a replacement.
She has since guided Banyana to the 2018 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations final, losing on penalties to Nigeria and qualified for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup for the first time in the national team’s history.
She repeated the feat of 2018 by securing Banyana’s ticket to the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
On Saturday, Ellis will again be in charge at a Women’s Africa Cup of Nations final as Banyana Banyana come face-to-face against host nation Morocco at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium.
With no Banyana Banyana player making the final three for the Women’s Player of the Year award, there’s still plenty to play for in Morocco.
The final of Africa’s most prestigious cup is coming up on Saturday evening and a possible first ever Africa Cup Of Nations Title for Banyana Banyana.
The culmination of WAFCON 2022 begins with the third place play-off match between Nigeria and Zambia on Friday.
Saturday’s Final between the host country Morocco and South Africa is expected to be a sold out affair, with no seat remaining at the 53 000 capacity Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, surpassing the 45 000 crowd that watched the semi-final match between the hosts and Nigeria last week.
Africa’s Elites. 👑
Today’s winners! 💪#CAFAwards2022 pic.twitter.com/GDcIPHYpmQ
— #CAFAwards2022 (@CAF_Online) July 21, 2022
