Ellis delighted as Banyana end year on a high in Morocco

Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis could not have asked for a better performance from her team in her first official match since signing a contract extension with the South African Football Association (Safa).

The 62-year-old coach missed a crucial 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) qualifier against the Democratic Republic of the Congo as she negotiated details of a new deal she was unhappy with, having helped the team win its maiden Wafcon in 2022 and also qualify for the last 16 at the 2023 World Cup.

Ellis returned to the dugout in an important away friendly against 2026 Wafcon hosts Morocco at Grande Stade d’Agadir (Adrar Stadium) in Agadir on Tuesday night, where two well-taken second-half goals by Nonhlanhla Mthandi and Noxolo Cesane secured Banyana a deserved 2-0 victory.

The Banyana coach was delighted with the outcome against this year’s losing Wafcon finalists, as it gives confidence to her team going to the 2026 tournament that runs from March 17 to April 3. Sixteen teams will fight to be among the three to represent Africa at the 2027 Fifa Women’s World Cup in Brazil.

“Without any doubt it’s a huge confidence boost, coming to Morocco — the host country, a few months away from Wafcon — and winning,” said Ellis, the longest-serving Banyana coach after taking the reins in 2016.

“It was a big game and I have to take my hat off to the players. They stood up today [Tuesday]. There are a few things we worked out in training. It’s a process but today I think it was a great performance.

“At times maybe we didn’t move the ball around as much as we wanted to. But we were in control — we could change the point of attack, attack down the flanks and bring it back in. When the chances came, we took them well. And on top of that it’s a clean sheet.”

Ellis was also happy with a few new players who are already making an impact as she tries to blend young talent and experience. New players such as Bongiwe Thusi, Bonolo Mokoma and Nthabiseng Majiya, who all came on as substitutes in the 70th minute, got a special mention.

“We did say we wanted to end the year on a good note, having qualified for Afcon. And then getting this win against Morocco — it’s good momentum for us. We’re going into an off-season now with a lot of confidence. And we know what to expect after coming here because this was a chance to step up, especially knowing the Wafcon has been increased to 16 countries.

“It’s going to be a tough competition. It’s a World Cup-qualifying competition. We will have to be better than we were today [Tuesday] but today was a good performance — and it gave us good reason to be happy.”