Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis says she is excited ahead of the upcoming Women’s Varsity Football Tournament.
Ellis herself has had an incredible year that saw her lead the South African women’s national team (Banyana Banyana) to their first-ever Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) title.
In the build-up to the final, where our ladies beat hosts Morocco inside a packed CAF in Rabat, with over 45,000 fans in the stands, Ellis was also crowned Women’s African Coach of the Year for the third time after 2018 and 2019.
Ellis, who grew up in Hannover Park and was a former Banyana player herself, has been in charge of Banyana since 2016 – initially as caretaker manager after Dutch coach Vera Pauw resigned – and has brought stability and success to the national team, who emulated the men’s class of 1996 to being crowned continental champions this year.
With the new Women’s Varsity Football around the corner, several WAFCON winners will also be playing in this year’s tournament. Ahead of the tournament, which kicks off on 11 October, Ellis has shared her excitement about Varsity Football with us.
“I think the Varsity Cup is an exciting tournament. It’s the top Universities playing against each other and three of those top Universities are [also] playing in the Hollywoodbets Super League,” she told Varsity Football.
“The Tshwane University of Technology had some great results of late, the University of the Western Cape are the current holders of the Varsity Cup and of course University of Johannesburg, who has also won it before.
“There is a lot to play for amongst those three Universities, with TUT winning this competition so many times, UWC winning it for the first time the last time it was played and UJ winning it when coach Jabu Boloi was the coach.”
Ellis also indicated that she will use this year’s edition to scout for talent as she prepares her team for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
“There is another opportunity to get bragging rights but also an opportunity to test yourself against other players and amongst these three teams itself, there are a lot of current [Banyana] players but also a lot of former national team players. There are a few young players who have come through the youth national teams as well,” she added.
“For us as coaches, it’s an opportunity of what we have compared to what is [out there]. But also the national team players competing against each other.
“It will also test the players mentally and physically because the games come thick and fast. That also shows the character of the players and the planning of the coaches as well.
“Good luck to all the teams and may the team that plans the best and gets all the results to win in the end.”
The first round of Women’s Varsity Football will kick off on 11 October, when UP Tuks Women will host UJ Women, TUT Women will face DUT Women, UWC Women will meet Wits Women and NWU Women will clash with UL Women.
