Shake-up looms as Banyana blow Olympic Games chance
Future of coach Desiree Ellis hangs in the balance
A major shake-up could be on the cards in the Banyana Banyana camp after they failed to qualify for the Olympic Games for the second time in a row.
Head coach Desiree Ellis’s future is hanging in the balance, and murmurs in the South African Football Association (Safa) corridors have bandied about the name of junior coach Simphiwe Dludlu as a possible replacement. Banyana, the African champions, were bundled out in the last hurdle of the qualifiers by the Super Falcons of Nigeria via a 1-0 aggregate score. They also missed out on the 2020 edition that was held in Tokyo, and this is a concern for some members of the Safa national executive committee (NEC).
This year’s Olympics will take place in Paris, France, in July and conclude in August.
Sunday World has learned, through impeccable sources that the Safa technical committee, which is in charge of appointing coaches for the various SA national teams, has also raised eyebrows regarding the senior women’s national team’s latest shortcomings.
Ellis now has to submit a technical report to the committee to outline what transpired in the disastrous qualifying campaign.
On Friday, Safa held its NEC meeting, which was followed by its ordinary congress yesterday, where a number of amendments to its constitution were deliberated. Among some of the subjects discussed were Banyana’s failure to qualify and coach Ellis’s future.
“The coach’s (Ellis) contract ends after the Olympic Games [August] and the technical committee is no longer happy with her,” said a contact closer to the team. “There could be a major shake-up in that team.
“There is also the issue with the goalkeeper, Andile Dlamini, who was not part of the team after she cited she was not mentally well to be part of the team. Dlamini has been playing second fiddle to Kaylin Swart and we all know that Dlamini is much better than Swart. This has caused unhappiness in the team.
“Ellis has been with the squad for almost 10 years and I hear that the senior players are not happy,” the informer added.
Ellis was quoted in the media as saying that Dlamini withdrew from the team because of medical reasons. Another informant revealed that Ellis may have lost the dressing room, something that contributed to the team’s lacklustre showing against Nigeria.
“It seems coach Desiree has lost the dressing room. The coach must answer difficult questions if she wants to keep her job. It is evident that the players are not playing for the coach, and the hunger of the players is no longer there.”
Former Banyana star Portia Modise also took a swipe at the team’s lethargic performance.
Modise was disappointed at how the players applied themselves against Nigeria.
Asked for comment Safa CEO Lydia Monyepao said: “As far as I know, Desiree Ellis is still our coach. About her report, the technical committee deals with that. The team will now be preparing for Wafcon.”