Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis could be leaving the women’s senior national team after the team finished fourth in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon), which ended last night.
Banyana, who went to the tournament as the defending champions, were defeated 4-3 via penalty kicks by Ghana in the bronze medal match on Friday night.
Talks coming from the camp in Morocco are that Ellis could be tending her resignation upon returning home to South Africa. Ellis was appointed as head coach in 2018.
Ellis has had to navigate a bunch of unhappy players, with some of the senior players opting to miss out on the spectacle. There was also her situation of working without a formal contract with Safa after her previous contract expired in July 2022. The players also boycotted training before the tournament started.
Said one of the players: “Building up to the tournament, it was not really nice in camp. There was some sort of tension between the coach and some players. There was also a situation with the coach and one of the players who did not want to set foot at camp.”
Another squad member said: “The whole thing with Safa not paying the bonuses of players ahead of the tournament, that obviously had an impact. We are told the coach is also not happy with some agreements with Safa.”
Ellis, who earned 32 caps for Banyana as captain and midfielder between 1993 and 2002, could tend in her resignation when she submits her Wafcon technical report.
