Banyana Banyana head coach Desiree Ellis continues to push boundaries and inspire both her players and fans. Her legacy is still being written, with each new challenge and triumph further cementing her status as a dynamic force in football. Her collaboration with Shield is testament to the fact that the best is yet to come.
Desiree Ellis stands as a beacon of excellence in South African football. Her illustrious career has been marked by groundbreaking achievements, including leading the national team to historic victories and elevating women’s football on the global stage.
Reflecting on the early days of her career, she says, “I loved the game of football from a very young age. I remember Madiba saying ‘sport has the power to change the world’, and he was right. Sport, in this case soccer, literally changed my world. The year Madiba was released from prison wasn’t just a big moment for our country, it was big for me personally. I got the opportunity to try out for the national soccer team. After dreaming about it for years, it finally happened! Growing up, I knew my dream was an ‘impossible’ one because, as everyone said back then, ‘girls don’t play football’. People thought I wanted to be a boy, but all I wanted was to play the game I loved.”
Born in Heideveld and raised in Hanover Park, Desiree says that growing up on the Cape Flats isn’t for the faint- hearted. “You’re up against so much: poverty, gangsterism, substance abuse, alcoholism. Becoming a professional athlete can feel so far out of reach.” For her, it was breaking the ‘grass ceiling’ in a world dominated by men. “For other young kids, the barriers to their sporting dreams are access to equipment, sports facilities, transport, finances, sometimes just transport money to get from point A to point B.”
Desiree attended school in Salt River and says that this is where it all started. “All the action happened after school, first at Dryden Street Primary School, then later at Salt River Senior Secondary School. We played street soccer in Greeff Street and Westminster Road.” Playing soccer with boys challenged her to move in ways she probably didn’t realise she could. “It built character and perseverance as the boys didn’t hold back; no-one wanted to lose to a girl! I didn’t hold back either. I hated losing so I was as committed as the boys and it gave me a winning mentality. I knew I had to break the limits people put on me, and let go of others’ expectations of me.” Affectionately referred to as ‘Magic’ by her supporters, she describes the significance of this nickname and how it reflects her playing style. “When I played in my first provincial tournament, I was 15 years old and my opponent at the time, Michelle Varner (who is a friend today), gave me that nickname as she said they had never seen a girl move the way I did. No one could get close to me! I was a good dribbler and very skillful at scoring goals for fun. I later moved to the midfield where my unconventional creativity produced many goal-scoring opportunities for the strikers.”
Desiree recently celebrated her 61st birthday, a milestone she doesn’t take for granted. Another recent personal accomplishment was moving her mother out of the Cape Flats. It’s evident that family is important to the trailblazer. She says her parents were instrumental in her success and shares that they took over the first club she joined, Athlone Celtic, just as the club was about to fold. “I’m the eldest of five children and all of us played soccer back then. My late dad, Ernest Ellis, was very instrumental in shaping my career; he was my biggest critic and supporter, who would push me to be better in every game. He also made sure he took me to every practice, every match, something not all parents were able to do back then, and most struggle to do even today.” When her father passed away, her mother became her biggest prayer warrior, praying non-stop for her success. She is now living her mother’s answered prayers. She also carried her mom’s teachings with her on and off the field. “My mother always drilled into us to treat others the way we want to be treated—it’s one of the reasons we’re a family that looks out for each other. This has helped me when I’ve had to make some of the toughest decisions as a coach, especially when I’ve had to put players’ dreams on hold. Not being able to select every player who’s been in training never gets easier with time.” Her siblings also form a big part of her support structure. “I have a brother and sisters who have backed me, and they regularly watch matches and attend our games in Cape Town. My sister and her husband who live in Australia also joined me at the 2023 World Cup. I’m really grateful to have a supportive family.”
Her journey hasn’t been without challenges. Recounting her experience with Athlone Celtic, she says, “It was a tough baptism of fire, as the opponents thought I was a boy. They’d keep telling me ‘girls don’t play like that’, even bullying me, asking me to pull down my pants to show that I was a girl in my very first game. After that first game the stories started doing the rounds, ‘There’s a girl who looks like a boy playing football but she really is a girl’. “It gave me my first taste of competitive football and I approached each game wanting to give my best always. I also knew I had to move with the element of surprise that seasoned professional footballers possess.
Her winning approach earned her a seat at the table of football greats and she continued to overcome more difficulties. Reflecting on some of the challenges she faced when transitioning from player to coach, she says, “I was already coaching while I was still playing and did my introductory course way back in 1998. I coached the Western Cape Nike Premier U15 girls team and was also part of the Western Cape team for the SA games. It wasn’t as easy as one might think because players often think they can play forever, but there comes a time in every athlete’s life when it’s time to call time on your career.” Crediting PJ Williams and coach Serame Letsoaka for encouraging her to get her coaching licenses, she co-coached with coach Shilene Booysen at Spurs WFC, but also had other roles in football. “It was so different from being a player and having to understand how things work from the coaching side, and it really gave me huge respect for coaches. It’s not easy coaching players who all want to play but can’t.”
Her challenges and victories shaped her into the trailblazer she is today. Her first big title was the 2017 Cosafa Cup, after beating Zambia in the semi- final in one of the greatest comebacks ever. “We were down and out after 73 minutes, 3-0 down, but equalised by the 84th minute and won on penalties. I became the first player and coach to win the Cosafa Cup in 2002 and 2017. We also qualified for our first-ever World Cup in 2019 , were runners-up to Nigeria in the 2018 Wafcon, and beat Nigeria at the 2021 Aisha Buhari Cup in Nigeria. I was also CAF coach of the year in 2018, 2019 and 2022. None of this would have been possible if we didn’t have the incredibly talented group of players who did the job on the field, and the team who worked tirelessly behind the scenes.”
While Desiree boasts an impressive resumé, she says she’s not done yet. “Who ever thought I’d be on the cover of GLAMOUR magazine one day?” she laughs. Shield’s ‘Not Done Yet’ campaign resonates deeply with her. “I know we’re not done yet. And I think it’s a great message of inspiration for us as a country, for women in the workplace, on and off the sports field, too.”
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