Deputy Minister of Sports Peace Mabe has explained how she intervened and played a role in convincing Desiree Ellis not to resign as head coach of Banyana Banyana at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) in July.
Last month, Sunday World reported that Ellis was gatvol and was on the verge of calling it quits from the federation she has served with aplomb.
One of the reasons for her intended quitting was that she had been coaching the national team and former African champions without a formal contract after her previous one expired in July 2022.
Also the camp in Morocco was shrouded in chaos, and Ellis had to navigate a bunch of unhappy players, with some of the senior footies opting to miss out on the spectacle. The players boycotted training before the tournament started, and also later in the middle of the competition.
“I had a chat with her [Ellis] in Morocco; it was not a formal thing. But I told her that quitting cannot be a resolution, and that she must stay until this is resolved.
“She did nothing wrong, of course, and for her to run away from this, it will make the girls [team] weaker because this is the time that they really need her.
“I am not sure why coach Desiree wanted to resign, but the challenges that are there were not created by her. She is a victim, and if she resigns it would be unfortunate.
“She did inform me that she was resigning, but I said she cannot resign now. We need her to fight this battle.
“And resigning, to run away from the problem, does not make you a good leader. If you are challenged, you must stay until you resolve them – and after dealing with that, then you can say, ‘I have done my part, and then I must go.’
“But if she resigns, when there are still leadership issues and women are still treated in the manner they are treated, it will not be good for her.
“You must remember, Desiree is not just a typical coach, she is a coach who groomed many young players and also a coach who won Wafcon,” she added.
Mabe said that they have full confidence in Ellis, and that they are going to support her.
“If her resignation was about other things, we won’t get involved. But if it was about ill treatment, we think she is facing from Safa, do not despair, we are going to resolve it.
“I feel that at Safa, they are threatened, that they are not free. Even when I am there, they are scared to open up to people – you can see that it is the treatment that they get there at Safa, that maybe that they are being victimised.”
Minister Gayton McKenzie’s number two explained further that she has been seeking a meeting with Safa and other federations so they can iron out women’s issues in sport.
“I have not spoken to Safa, I scheduled a meeting with the Cricket SA and Rugby SA as well. My meeting was postponed because Safa was not available. I want to meet all the federations in one place, and then we will hold a press conference.
“I want to tell Safa that they must not run away from this matter; it is an opportune time to correct the ills of the past. Running away will not instil confidence in the sponsors. Sponsors will only be motivated when they are also part of the organisation,” Mabe added.
Ellis declined to comment on the matter and said: “Unfortunately, I cannot comment on this as the deputy minister is best placed to respond to this.”
