No SAFA contract talks for Ellis – yet
She may have guided Banyana Banyana to a historic Round of 16 qualification at the FIFA Women’s World Cup last month, but the Siya crew understands coach Desiree Ellis hasn’t yet held any contract talks.
The 60-year-old former national team captain ascended to the hot seat first when Vera Pauw vacated the post and was then subsequently appointed as her predecessor in February 2018 by SAFA. For Ellis, the mandate was clear: guide Banyana to the Olympic Games, World Cup and win the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.
Under her tutelage, Banyana have been able to reach the global showpiece twice and were last year crowned Wafcon champions after beating hosts Morocco 2-1 in Rabat to take the title home. But Ellis is still chasing that elusive appearance at the Olympics having failed to qualify for the Tokyo event in 2021.
According to Soccer Laduma sources, her contract with SAFA will run out at the end of the upcoming event in Paris next year – and perhaps even sooner if Banyana are unable to negotiate their way to France.
There are mixed feelings about Ellis’ tenure as the senior women’s national team coach at the moment. She has a lot of support from those who recognise her achievements of getting Banyana to two World Cups as well as being twice awarded the Coach of the Year by CAF.
However, others feel she has run her race after she was criticized for her tactical choices during the tournament co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand despite Banyana getting to the knockout phase.
But at the end of the day, SAFA hold all the cards!
unnecessary tiff with the men’s senior national team that could turn uglier, if not more embarrassing, than the Tsakane chaos that preceded Banyana Banyana’s departure to the Women’s World Cup.
Although the scenes were regrettable, it appears as if lessons were not learnt from that fiasco as a strike by the senior men’s side was averted in the 11th hour prior to the friendly match against Namibia at Orlando Stadium last week.
This publication has gathered that while relative calm has returned to the Bafana Bafana camp, there is a simmering discontent bubbling underneath the surface that could blow into an inferno of massive proportions. Information that has landed on the Siya crew’s desk indicates that SAFA has hinted about the possibility of stopping paying players incentive bonuses altogether going forward.
Apparently, this “threat” did not sit well with the players and Siya sources have indicated that unless the organization addressed the matter urgently and cleared the air around this burning issue with the players, expect the kind of chaos that is simply too ghastly to contemplate.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers get underway within the next couple of months and the players are anxious to know what kind of package will be offered to them for qualification to the global event.
Hugo Broos’ charges have also qualified for the Afcon in Ivory Coast next January and unless the matter of financial incentives is sorted out speedily now while there is still time, we could be headed for another Tsakane incident, only this time it will be on a larger scale.