Banyana Banyana head coach Desiree Ellis and Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies coach Jerry Tshabalala have been nominated for the inaugural 2023 COSAFA Women’s Coach of the Year award.
The winner will be announced at a gala awards ceremony in Durban on April 19, with a panel of judges from across the region having assessed their achievements for the period of January 1 to December 31, 2023.
The three nominees are as follows (in alphabetical order):
Desiree Ellis (South Africa) – Ellis led South Africa to a historic round of 16 place at the 2023 Women’s World Cup and qualified them for the defence of their Women’s Africa Cup of Nations title that they won in 2022. She also advanced the side to the final round of qualifiers for the Olympic Games in Paris later this year.
Bruce Mwape (Zambia) – Mwape guided Zambia at their first ever Women’s World Cup and although they lost their first two games 5-0, they bounced back with a historic 3-1 win over Costa Rica in their final match. He has also led them to qualification for the next Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and the final round of qualifiers for the Olympic Games in Paris later this year.
Jerry Tshabalala (Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies) – Tshabalala led Mamelodi Sundowns to the finals of the CAF Women’s Champions League and clinched the 2023 title by winning all their matches in the Ivory Coast without conceding a single goal. Tshabalala led Sundowns to the treble with victory in the COSAFA Women’s Champions League and in their domestic Super League.
The judging panel from across the 14 member nations that make up COSAFA are renowned
for their knowledge of Southern African football and are as follows:
Houssamidine Ben Ahmed (Comoros), Ivan Capuepue (Angola), Rob Delport (South Africa),
Gerard Govinden (Seychelles), Peter Kanjere (Malawi), Jesse Kauraisa (Namibia), Kagiso
Kgaogano (Botswana), Sibusiso Masilela (Eswatini), Sandra Mwila (Zambia), Boitelo Radebe
(Lesotho), Heriniaina Samson (Madagascar), Benoit Thomas (Mauritius), Steve Vickers
(Zimbabwe) and Raimundo Zandamela (Mozambique).
