Janine van Wyk, Desiree Ellis and Emma Hendricks during the Banyana Banyana Arrival Press Conference at OR Tambo International Airport on December 02 2018 in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Lee Warren/Gallo Images)
Banyana Banyana head coach Desiree Ellis has been named the CAF Women’s National Team Coach of the Year for 2018, while forward Thembi Kgatlana took home two trophies – the CAF Goal of the Year and CAF Woman Player of the Year awards.
This is an historic win for Ellis, who is also a former Banyana Banyana captain. Ellis capped off a fine 2018 after she made history by becoming the first person to win the COSAFA Women’s Championship as both a player and coach.
She is also the first individual to lead the South African Women’s National Team to qualification for the World Cup.
The awards took place in Dakar, the capital of Senegal on Tuesday night.
Ellis beat off the strong challenge of Joseph Brian Ndoko (Cameroon) and Thomas Dennerby (Nigeria) — with the trio set to lead their teams at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France in June.
The 55-year-old was the only woman nominated for the prestigious Woman’s Coach of the Year award.
She is the only person to win the COSAFA Women’s Championship as both player and coach. She is also the first coach to qualify the South African Senior Women’s National Team to a FIFA World Cup. — Sport 24