Banyana Banyana head coach Dr Desiree Ellis is expecting the 2024 CAF Women’s Champions League to produce new heroes as many who have dominated the stage have left for greener pastures.
The tournament starts in Morocco this weekend with the opening game between TP Mazembe and South African newcomers the University of Western Cape (UWC) in Group B.
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The Blues are the COSAFA champions and join fellow countrywomen defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies in the tournament as representatives from the South.
Ellis was part of the CAF panel that was discussing the upcoming tournament in a webinar on Tuesday afternoon where she gave her perspective on the South African sides.
The reigning Female African Coach of the Year is expecting UWC to do well despite being newbies as coach Thinasonke Mbuli is versed in African football from the national team while also expecting Sundowns’ quality to show.
“Mamelodi Sundowns they’ve won it twice in the last three editions,” Ellis answered an iDiski Times question.
“We all know what they bring. They’ve got some new players and have won the league already in South Africa with quite a number of games to go, because they have the quality they’ve also bought really well.
“UWC on the other hand, over the last couple of years, they’ve run Mamelodi Sundowns very, very close.
“Yes, they’ve lost a couple of players due to injury and some going abroad but Coach Thina [Thinasonke Mbuli] is well versed on the African continent, and I think a lot of people were worried when they went to the COSAFA playoffs.
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“I didn’t have any doubt because she’s been to tournaments before. Even though they lost the first game, I still believed that they could continue. I think a lot of players are playing in the national team from both teams, but they’re also players on the fringes of the national team. The type of football they play is similar to what South Africa plays. So, they’ll bring that type of flare, but they can also grit it out.
“And I think there’ll be a lot of new names, not just from Mamelodi Sundowns and UWC, but from all the other countries.
“There’ll be a lot of new names at the end of this tournament that everybody will be talking about because some of the names that have played on the continent may have gone abroad.”
