Banyana Banyana head coach Dr Desiree Ellis has emphasised the importance of South Africa having two clubs at the CAF Women’s Champions League finals this year, saying not only is it good for women’s football but it will do the national team a world of good.
Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies qualified by virtue of being continental defending champions, while University of Western Cape (UWC) qualified as COSAFA Champions. The two sides have regularly contributed players to the senior national women’s team.
There are currently eight players from Sundowns and five from UWC in the squad to travel to Europe for friendlies against Denmark and England this month. The matches are part of Banyana’s preparations for the defense of their Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) title next year.
Ellis spoke to iDiski Times writer Lethabo Kganyago in edition 175 of the newspaper about the achievement of the clubs saying the experience the girls will gain playing on the continent cannot be bought.
“I think it’s great for South African women’s football it also shows that our league is growing though it’s not where we want it to be,” Ellis told iDiski Times.
“It is huge because you can experience playing for the national team right, but when you play club football on the continent, it’s completely different. That’s a different type of experience that players get there and I think it augurs well for the national team going forward, because in both teams there’s quite a lot of players that are in the national team.”
“There’s a few that were on the fringes and so on, there’re young players there. So it’s really an opportunity to gain more experience and I think that will only hold us in good stead going forward. That is not experience that you can buy, unfortunately, it’s experience that you gain.
“I think a lot of the players in both teams having played on the continent over the last two years, that will also help their clubs. Having been to tournaments and having been to knockout matches when we are qualifying because they know the pleasure of that. So it’s a win, win situation”
