DESIREE Ellis should not be appointed Banyana Banyana head coach, says Banyana Banyana legend Portia Modise.
Modise feels Ellis, the current interim coach, does not have enough experience to lead the senior national women’s team. She says Safa must appoint a foreign coach.
Ellis took over when Dutch coach Vera Pauw resigned in 2016.
Modise, who has 124 caps and 101 goals for Banyana, spoke to SunSport yesterday at the University of Pretoria’s High Performance Centre where she is attending the SAB League’s Skills Camp for coaches.
“I don’t have a problem with Desiree. I love her,” she said. “But I think Safa should not appoint her as full-time head coach.
“Safa must appoint an international coach, with Desiree in the mix to learn more and gain valuable experience. I don’t think there is anything wrong with gaining more experience first.”
Regarding the 54-year-old winning the Cosafa Women’s Championship in Zimbabwe last year, Modise laughed, saying: “That’s a small competition.
“I’ve played in that competition, we can win it at any given time.”
She added: “I would love to have a local coach in charge of Banyana but not now. We need an outsider, from a country where the women’s league is strong.
“Here women’s football does not have enough support – you can see that in our local league.”
Modise said Safa should not have allowed Pauw to leave: “I enjoyed working under Pauw and I think we should have kept her.
“Pauw cares about women’s football and has a lot of experience. You could see what she was trying to do when it comes to developing football in our country. But what can I say, she is gone now.”
Modise, currently coaching a men’s team, Za Sehlahleni in the Castle League, says she does not have ambitions of coaching Banyana some day.
“I want to coach men’s teams. I would like to coach the SA Under-23s, in the National First Division or even an Absa Premiership team,” she said
“To me, if you’re a woman it does not mean you have to coach only women’s teams.
“I relish the challenge of coaching men. That is why I am coaching in the Castle League and enjoying it!”
