By Julius Okorie
Banyana Banyana of South Africa coach Desiree Ellis may have
failed in her recent attempt to qualify the team for the forthcoming Olympic
Games in Paris, but it does not remove anything from her as one of the bests in
the coaching business.
Ellis battled Super Falcons home and away for one of the two
African tickets to the Games which takes place in July but found the Nigeria
side too hot for comfort thus missing the mark thanks to a 2-1 aggregate over
two legs played in Abuja and Pretoria respectively.
Ellis is the most successful Banyana Banyana coach in the
history of the team, guiding them to their maiden Women's Africa Cup of Nations
title in 2022.
She also led Banyana to being the first senior national team
to advance to the last 16 of a FIFA World Cup, a feat they achieved last year
in the tournament co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand.
Apparently thrilled by the achievement of the former South
Africa international, Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) has
completed arrangement to confer her with honorary doctorate degree come
Thursday April 25th, 2024 during their graduation ceremony.
The Four-time African Coach of the Year will thus be adding
another feather to her lists of accolades thanks to her contribution to women
football development in the country and beyond.
CPUT announced in a statement that Ellis would receive the
accolade because her "significant achievements as a professional
sportsperson and head coach of the South African women's football team, Banyana
Banyana, has positioned her at the top of the African and global sport
fraternity."
Ellis it will be recalled clinched CAF Women footballer of
the year in 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2023. As a player Desiree Ellis who played as
a midfielder earned 32 caps for South Africa with six goals to her credit
between 1993 and 2002
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