Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis’ rise to the summit of women’s coaching in the continent wasn’t short of hardship and resent.
However, her strong belief in her coaching capabilities, which was aided by the backing from her team and loved-ones, kept her soldiering on.
As interim coach, 12 months into the job, she led Banyana to the Cosafa Cup victory - which made her the first South African to achieve that feat as player and coach - but that, to her naysayers, was not enough to get the role on a permanent basis.
Fast track to an additional six months as a stand-in, after Safa’s rumoured inability to find the prime target, she finally landed the role permanently.
However, her ultimate blow to the haters was the qualification to SA’s first World Cup through an Africa Women’s Cup of Nations (Awcon) second-place finish.
And for her outstanding leadership, Ellis scooped the 2018 Caf Women’s Coach of the Year award last Tuesday.
The Capetonian says: “It’s not about standing there on the field with the whistle, it takes a lot of hard work.
“It’s the work ethic that you put in and making sure things are ready when you get to camp. When you put in the hard work, the rewards are always there.”
“But, overall it’s been a team effort.”
Ellis will lead her team in two friendlies at Cape Town Stadium this week when Banyana host the Netherlands on Saturday and Sweden on Tuesday as they look to kick off their World Cup year with tough tests.