POLOKWANE, South Africa — South Africa women’s national team head coach Desiree Ellis has admitted that Morocco’s investment in women’s football has increased demands on anyone looking to challenge them in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON).
Speaking at Saturday’s post-match press conference after South Africa beat Angola 2-0 in the COSAFA Women’s Championship, Ellis said that she was using the tournament to bring youngsters into the fold alongside experienced heads who can help them settle in order.
However, she admitted that even though South Africa won WAFCON in 2022, Moroccan women’s football’s professionalisation in recent years means that this year’s edition will be more difficult to win than the tournament four years ago.
“Morocco has got a two-tier professional league. They’ve obviously got the resources and a bottomless pit to be able to assist them with that,” Ellis said in response to ESPN’s question on the challenge posed by Moroccan women’s football’s rapid development.
“We’ve got to look at other innovative ways to be able to do this – and that is bringing these young players regularly into camp so that they can understand what it’s about.
“Last year, we played Lesotho with a predominantly U17 [and] U20 [squad] – and a few older players just to see where they are at.
“Some of them are back here. We decided to bring more of the better U20 players [although] we couldn’t bring all of them. You see the results of that. We have 21-year-olds. The last substitute was a 16-year-old (Thorisho Mphelo). We still have a 17-year-old (Zoe October) on the bench. The striker (Bonolo Mokoma) is turning 18 this year. So, we’re looking to develop and looking for the future.”
Ellis reflected on this tactic in previous years: “We went to the World Cup in 2019 with a very young Sibulele [Holweni] and a very young Karabo [Dhlamini] at 17 – [both] straight from the U17 World Cup, which was the previous year.
“We did likewise with [Nthabiseng] Majiya. We took her to the WAFCON in 2022 that we won [when she had] just turned 18.
“I think Nox (Noxolo Cesane) has got over 50 caps and she is just turning 26 this year [in October]. We’re always looking at refreshing. We’re always looking at bringing those players in because they can also learn from the more senior players.
“What better way than to have the likes of Refiloe Jane and Bambanani Mbane here to be able to help those players develop and grow.
“I spoke to one of the young players and her answer to me was: ‘I was excited; I was a bit worried – but when I come back next time, I’m not going back.’ That is the attitude that you want from these youngsters.”
Morocco will host the event for the third time running after Nigeria dethroned South Africa there last year. Both in 2022 and 2025, Morocco were beaten finalists on home soil.
This year, the hosts are in Group A with Algeria, Senegal and Kenya. Banyana Banyana will be in Group B along with Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and Tanzania.
The top two teams in each of four groups will advance to the quarter-finals.
