Desiree Ellis
Banyana Banyana’s longest-serving captain and current assistant coach Desiree Ellis chats to Tiyani wa ka Mabasa about the women’s national team then and now.
National team player gets sacked ... for playing football!
KICK OFF: Tell our readers about the roles you continue to play in women’s football ... DESIREE ELLIS: I’m the assistant coach of Banyana Banyana, a national selector and the coach of Spurs WFC. I’m also an analyst with SABC Sport and do coaching clinics with ex-pros like Thabo Mngomeni and Gerald Stober with Football4All, which is run by George Dearnaley. Take us back to our first women’s national team in 1993 ... It was always a dream to play for the country, but because of apartheid I thought it would never happen. But our late former President Nelson Mandela was released and at the age of 30 I got the opportunity. I lost my job as I arrived late back for work – we had travelled with a minibus and got a puncture on our way back. It did not matter though as I realised my dream! [Editor’s note: KICK OFF employed Desiree as a photo researcher after she lost her job.]
What are your memories of your first match for Banyana Banyana?
The night before the game, while having supper, an official of Swaziland came into the room and asked where the national team was. We responded by saying we are the national team and she said she does not recognise any of us. I scored a hat-trick, as did Bertha King and Gaylene Peters. We won 14-0. I was playing for Cape Town Spurs at the time and I was selected at an interprovincial tournament.
Do you think the public were receptive to the idea of women playing football, or was it viewed as a man’s game?
There were lots of stereotypes back then ... people saying girls don’t play football when all we were doing was just playing the game we loved. We had to change people’s perception and just play the game and show our talents.
Do you think women’s football is generally accepted now and taken more seriously?
Much has changed. It is played in schools and universities, and local and international scholarships are now offered to talented players. We also have a student national team which was playing at the World Student Games in Gwangju, South Korea.
It’s been 22 years since Banyana’s first match. Do you think the team has made progress?
Well, we won the first ever Cosafa Cup in 2002, but our biggest achievement was qualifying for the 2012 London Olympics. Last year we just failed to qualify for the 2015 World Cup after creating so many chances. The pain is still there. The team has definitely made a lot of
progress.
Banyana are ranked fifth in Africa and 60th in world football. What more needs to be done to take women’s football in this country to the next level?
A national professional league is the way to start. Then the best play the best every week and that improves football.
How is the current Women’s League structured, and how can it be improved to ensure there is more talent being unearthed across the country?
The Sasol League comprises 16 teams and is played in the nine provinces, with the League winners going to the national championships. Sometimes players are missed as only one team gets to represent the province. Make no mistake; without Sasol, women’s football would be floundering. Sasol has kept women’s football afloat – I can’t imagine where we would be without their sponsorship. Clubs get playing kit, travel allowance and prize-money. They also sponsor Banyana Banyana and this has helped the national team to play as many friendlies as possible. Sasol and Safa also have roadshows where players are identified. But we need a national league where the best can compete with the best every week – this will improve the quality of play and also make for a better national team. The best players would be seen every week. Coach Vera [Pauw] has spoken about a scouting tree whereby scouts in different regions and provinces would be able to identify talent.
Lastly, are you confident that in years to come women’s football will be more competitive?
If we can get the national professional league up and running that will really change things in the years to come. The national team, on the other hand, needs to play high pressure matches against strong teams. When you play the top teams, you will be able to know what do to in those situations.