From being in the presence of two South African presidents
to high-fiving the third, South Africa’s national women’s football team coach
Desiree Ellis is determined to grab headlines at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in
France.&nbsp; 



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As the country celebrates 25 years of democracy since the
fall of apartheid, South Africa’s women’s football team Banyana Banyana will
make a landmark appearance at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, to be held
between June 7 and July 7 in France.



&nbsp;The years of toil,
tears and sweaty perseverance beyond the pitch are indescribable for the team’s
coach Desiree Ellis months after qualifying for the acclaimed international
football championship.



When we meet her, she vividly recalls the qualifying match,
one of the most defining moments of her career. 



With 10 minutes left to the final whistle, as tension
mounted on the field, Ellis ascended a ladder for a closer look as history
unfolded, that day in 2018 in Ghana. 



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="410" height="617" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Soccer3.png" alt="" class="wp-image-41373" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Soccer3.png 410w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Soccer3-300x451.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Soccer3-199x300.png 199w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 410px) 100vw, 410px" /><figcaption>Banyana Banyana Coach Desiree Ellis. Picture: Gypseenia Lion </figcaption></figure></div>



“I knew we were 10 minutes away but in football, anything
can happen,” she says. 



Ellis recalls a previous World Cup qualifier when things
went completely wrong. 



In 2014, Banyana lost to Nigeria during a semi-final
qualifying game. After the match, the mood was somber as the team drove home,
she recounts. It’s moments like those that make this 2019 qualification that
much more precious for Ellis. 



As they faced Mali’s national team, The Eagles, in the 2018
Africa Women Cup of Nations (AWCON) tournament hosted in Ghana, a tired and
overworked Banyana team played to their fullest leaving Ellis with no choice
but to scream in celebration of their ultimate victory.



 “I tried to stay calm so that the players could be calm. They kept shouting ‘manage the game’ and we kept control of the game fantastically. We were leading two-nil and when they said two minutes I could’ve screamed.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">“When the final whistle went, the scenes were amazing. Oh goodness, you just didn’t know where to run, who to hug or what to do,” Ellis exults. </blockquote>



A solid defence strategy mixed with a patriotic passion for
both the game and teamwork ensured an eventual win.&nbsp; 



“Many of them were there in 2014 when we didn’t qualify and
for a lot of them, it might have been the last opportunity to go to a world
cup. That really drove them. We needed to take it seriously and make sure we
don’t go to the third and fourth place.”



Armed with renewed confidence and a French translation book
to speak and understand basic French, Ellis is equipped to lead the women’s
team to possible glory at the international championship this month.



&nbsp;She owes her passion
for the sport to her community where she started playing at the tender age of
six. Back then, little did she know how far soccer would take her – or how far
she would take soccer.&nbsp; 



If that six-year-old girl from Salt River, a Cape Town suburb, had looked into a crystal ball at the time, she would have seen herself lead the team she once played for, and also rub shoulders with three South African presidents.



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&nbsp;“When you talk about
significant moments, it most probably is your first game, your first cap or
being made captain but I think those are small milestones. I have had the
privilege of having lunch with the late President Nelson Mandela, with a lot of
other athletes in Cape Town, at his residence,” she tells FORBES AFRICA. 



Ellis has also received a presidential silver medal from
president Thabo Mbeki and interacted with former president Jacob Zuma when she
was an ambassador for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.&nbsp; 



“We played a game in Cape Town during the World Cup. The
game was 10 minutes before the Argentina game, and I came off the field as
president Zuma came on and we high-fived each other.



“It comes with the work you put in. I don’t think many
people can be fortunate to say that they have interacted with all three
presidents.”



Ellis regards the role leaders play as an important one in
relation to sport, particularly when it comes to creating opportunities for the
marginalized.



“When president Nelson Mandela was released, I got the
opportunity to play national football. Prior to that I never played. I was 30
years old,” she says. 



Her unwavering focus on the game, she adds, and the many
sacrifices she has had to make along the way changed her story from just
playing soccer with boys on the streets of Salt River to achieving national
glory. 



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="926" height="615" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Soccer2.png" alt="" class="wp-image-41375" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Soccer2.png 926w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Soccer2-300x199.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Soccer2-600x398.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Soccer2-768x510.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 926px) 100vw, 926px" /><figcaption>Banyana Banyana Coach Desiree Ellis holds a portrait of the team in 1993. Picture: Gypseenia Lion</figcaption></figure>



Her career goals even left her financially vulnerable, at
times. At the peak of her football career, a young Ellis, who worked at a local
butchery, had left for a football weekend and could not make it back to her workplace
in time to mix spices. That lapse resulted in her losing her job.



&nbsp; “Knowing your worth
can open doors,” she advises as she speaks to us at the state-of-the-art
headquarters of the South African Football Association (SAFA) in Johannesburg.



“Our federation is excited that they took the opportunity to
appoint female coaches for female teams. Most importantly, it is not just
making those decisions in appointing us, but also supporting us.”



Support does not only come from management but also fans who
play a role in encouraging the women to reach their potential – both on and off
the field. 



“We played in Cameroon in 2016 and the stadiums were packed, we played in Ghana and there were full stadiums. We came to Port Elizabeth and they [fans] were the 12th and 13th players for Banyana. The best fans we had [were] in Durban. It was absolutely amazing, and it [support] hasn’t only grown on the stands but on the field as well. The Under-17 team qualified for the World Cup, so it shows how the game has grown,” says Ellis. 



Although local leagues for women have increased on home
soil, there needs to be more opportunities that give African players a chance
to break into the sport and develop their global competitive edge. 



It starts with prioritizing junior levels. 



“Players are getting opportunities to study. I remember back
when we were playing, you were either unemployed or you had a job and 80 to 90
percent of the players were unemployed back then. If you look at the national
team now, 80 to 90 percent of the players have a degree or are currently still
studying. Players are getting opportunities to study or play abroad. We have a
lot of players playing abroad but I think more can be done.”



As a national asset, Ellis argues that focusing on the game
is far more important than worrying about issues that are beyond control. 



Once focus is lost, it manifests in all areas.&nbsp; 



“When people ask me about the money, I tell them I am a
technical person. You tend to concentrate more on your job as a coach and leave
the rest, because you can get side-tracked by all the other things. We don’t
worry about those things,” she says.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="945" height="611" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Soccer4-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-41377" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Soccer4-1.png 945w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Soccer4-1-300x194.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Soccer4-1-600x388.png 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Soccer4-1-768x497.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 945px) 100vw, 945px" /><figcaption>Desiree Ellis and Portia Modise&#8217;s portraits at the SAFA headquarters. Picture: Gypsenia Lion</figcaption></figure>



“As a technical person, your job is to prepare the team, [use] the training sessions to improve the individual and the team. That is why we have a manager, but when it influences team performance, I come in.” 



As the national team jets off to face world soccer, Ellis is
working round the clock to ensure that the team will make the nation proud. 



“Coaching is not just blowing the whistle, there are other
things in between. You need a schedule; people want to know what you are doing.
You have to do reports as well, so it is not about blowing the whistle at the
end of the game.” 



It’s also about analyzing the opponents with the technical
team and coming up with strategies and a definitive plan of action. 



“Playing against top countries is difficult as they play
regularly against other top countries. That is where you want to measure
yourself and that is where you really want to go out and bloom. People call it
the group of death, but it is what it is. We will just take it one game at a
time.



“If we do more, football in Africa can only grow and grow.”



It seems more work happens off the field than on the field,
and Ellis, who prides herself on her technical prowess, hopes Banyana will pull
up its socks and bring home a glistening&nbsp;
cup.

Desiree

How Banyana Banyana Coach Desiree Ellis Has Become A Game Changer

Fran Hilton-Smith developed a love for football in the dusty alleys of her neighborhood, where as a child, she played with the boys, her only friends at the time.
“In the neighborhood I grew up in, there were more boys than girls, so all the boys were playing football. In the beginning, I had to be the goalkeeper because nobody wanted to be the goalkeeper and then finally I got to become a really good left-footed left wing,” says Hilton-Smith.
She played for South Africa’s national team but because of the political turmoil in the country at the time, she wasn’t able to play anywhere. Soon after that, and not venturing far from the sport she so loved, she became the national women’s team’s coach in 2000. Today, Hilton-Smith is the technical director of men’s and women’s football in the South African Football Association (SAFA).
When she first started, professional women’s football was practically non-existent.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-29923 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/IMG_1368-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/IMG_1368-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/IMG_1368-300x450.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/IMG_1368-600x900.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/IMG_1368-683x1024.jpg 683w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/IMG_1368.jpg 682w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" />
“In the first team I ran, I worked out of the boot of my car, I had to buy the kit myself and buy the soccer balls myself.” She noticed that the racial integration between female football players happened much quicker than that of the men; this was because the government and football officials didn’t pay much attention to the women’s league.
Her presence in women’s football has changed the game, although there is much that needs to be done. She has not stopped lobbying for women in football.
Not only passionate about South African football, Hilton-Smith is also a crusader for women’s empowerment. She has worked tirelessly to bring acknowledgement to young women interested in and passionate about the sport. To encourage young girls in South Africa to take to football, she founded South Africa’s High Performance Centre for Girls, hosted by the University of Pretoria, focusing on the development of girls through sport and incorporating aspects of leadership.
“I realized our women are much more skilful than most of the women in the world, hence I thought if I put a lot of effort into women’s football in South Africa, with our skilful players, we will be able to make a mark on world football,” she says.
‘Doing It For Love’
Hilton-Smith became a role model for many of the youngsters in the women’s league, in particular Portia Modise, the South African who plays for the country’s national team Banyana Banyana.
“I grew up in front of Fran, I saw her struggle. It’s not easy. I don’t want to be in her shoes. We need people like Fran to stay longer in this game,” says Modise.
She started playing from the age of six, in White City Soweto, where she grew up. Her first serious entry point into the game was when she joined Cosmos Ladies. From there, she moved around to other local women’s teams. When she was a teenager, Hilton-Smith had spotted her at a game and recruited her to Banyana Banyana’s under-19 division.
From there, Modise moved her way up and joined the first team. She was signed to play overseas in a professional league despite Banyana Banyana never playing at any international leagues.
Although according to Hilton-Smith, football is one of the fastest-growing sports in the country, it does not do justice to the women’s league.
“Women’s football was struggling, it’s still struggling. There is a long way to go, we have just one league, the Sasol league and that’s struggling,” says Hilton-Smith.
“A lot of women I started playing with are not playing anymore, there was nothing to invest, and women’s football doesn’t pay. You needed to find a job to look after your family,” says Modise.
Female players like Modise, who are their families’ sole bread winners, and have been playing for years, don’t even own homes or vehicles. Only female players who play for the national team get paid a salary of R400 ($34) a day when on duty. A played game or bonus game earns the women a once-off R5,000 ($432). After the tournament, there are no funds coming in.
Modise stays because of her love for the game.
“It does not pay my bills, I am doing it out of love, I do manage but it’s difficult.”
She admits that she believes her club is much better than the national men’s league, however, much of this may be true. Funds in the men’s league outweigh that of what the women’s league has to work with.
“The history of football is that sponsors always came in to sponsor men’s football and it has just become a massive sport that attracts a lot of sponsorship. There is a future but I don’t think in my life time or Portia’s, we will ever see women earn the same as men,” says Hilton-Smith.
“Even when I used to play for Denmark, we got the same attention as the men got, but the salaries were not the same,” says Modise.
According to both women, sponsors are the biggest problem in funding the women’s league.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-29924 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/IMG_1400-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/IMG_1400-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/IMG_1400-300x450.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/IMG_1400-600x900.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/IMG_1400-683x1024.jpg 683w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/IMG_1400.jpg 682w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px" />
“It is a marketing problem as far as I am concerned. All the companies that make women’s products should be sourced to come and sponsor. Not just for women’s football, but for women’s sports.”
“As far as work options, women will never earn the same as men. Not even in my situation, I think that’s a women’s loss in life, you going to be earning less no matter how qualified you are or how competent and football is no different. Having a sponsorship where players get a good salary every month is massive,” says Hilton-Smith.
Despite all the challenges in the football industry for women, the ladies continue to fight for a more sustainable women’s league.
“My dream is to see women’s football have a proper professional league, I believe we have a lot of talent but there is no platform,” says Modise.
In the interest of women’s football, let’s hope she reaches her goal.

Tag: Portia Modise

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