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Ellis Reflects On Banyana's Euro Trip & What SA Women's Football Needs

"We didn't have a good game against Denmark but considering we had one training session to prepare the team after five months of inactivity due to the FIFA calendar dates where we couldn't play any matches.

"And then with some of our more experienced players not being available for that game, it was always going to be a challenge. We needed to work on our defensive organisation first, because that is key... I think the first half went very well and then it fell apart in the second half, it was always going to be a challenge," noted Desiree in her reflection of Banyana's 5-0 loss to the Danes in Aalborg.

With a more experienced group of players entering the fray in Coventry for the England game, the score line somewhat reflected the levels of both Banyana and the Lionesses.

"The England game, knowing that we had the likes of Linda [Motlhalo], Thembi [Kgatlana], and Hilda [Magaia] back really gave us an outlet, against Denmark we didn't have an outlet.

"We still had a number of players missing. Our captain [Refiloe Jane] is still injured, Bongeka Gumede was not available, Wendy [Shongwe] is still injured and Jermaine [Seoposenwe] was not available, we had quite a number of players missing, this was just for us to prepare ourselves [for WAFCON]," added Ellis.

Ellis also credited the presence of forward Thembi Kgatlana and the hard work of the analyst in their narrow loss to England. Ellis also mentioned how a professional women's league will take Banyana to the next level. 

"We have one sponsor, which is Sasol. They've been our ever-present sponsor since 2009. Hollywoodbets sponsor the league and we've just welcomed a new sponsor in Volkswagen, for women's football. But, we still don't have a professional league and I think that will take us to the next level," stated Ellis, adding:

"We have clubs attached to PSL teams but I think the only fully fledged professional set-up is at Mamelodi Sundowns, where you can get up in the morning and go straight into football. Everyone else? Either has a job or they study. 

"Sometimes, in midweek when they are league games, most clubs are not able to field their full sides because some of the players can't get off work. We had two players withdraw from the COSAFA Cup squad because they couldn't get off from work. So, if we had the privilege of having a professional league, I don't even want to imagine where we could go," said Ellis, emphasising how more investment could take SA women's football to new heights.