The ball was still rolling around the Stade Moulay Rachid in Casablanca when Refiloe Jane's 77th-minute strike settled it: South Africa 2, Nigeria 1, and Banyana Banyana's World Cup hopes were still alive in August 2026. On the touchline stood Desiree Ellis. Ten years into the job, she remains one of the most decorated coaches in African women's football.
| Desiree Ellis | Key facts |
|---|---|
| Born | 14 March 1963 (63 years old) |
| Current job | Head coach, South Africa women (Banyana Banyana) |
| In charge since | 2016 as interim, permanent from February 2018 |
| Contract | New four-year deal approved by SAFA in October 2025 |
| Playing record | 32 caps, 6 goals for South Africa (1993 to 2002) |
| Biggest title | WAFCON 2022 champion |
| Individual awards | CAF Women's Coach of the Year 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023 |
| Salary | Not made public by SAFA |
From the Cape Flats to Banyana's first team
Street football came first. Ellis grew up in Hanover Park, on the Cape Flats. School was in Salt River, where she played on Greeff Street and Westminster Road.
She is the eldest of five children. “My late dad, Ernest Ellis, was very instrumental in shaping my career; he was my biggest critic and supporter,” she told Glamour South Africa in 2024.
Her club career ran from Athlone Celtic in 1978 to Spurs Ladies, her home from 1991 to 2002, with stops at Wynberg St Johns, Joyces United and St Albans City along the way. The recorded totals are 600 appearances and 368 goals. For a midfielder, that is extraordinary. When South Africa played its first women's international on 30 May 1993, she was 30. She scored a hat-trick in a 14-0 win over Swaziland.
She captained the side to second place at the 2000 African Women's Championship and retired in April 2002 with 32 caps. Some of the names who followed her are on our list of Banyana Banyana all-time top goal scorers.
A decade in the Banyana dugout
Ellis coached Spurs Ladies from 2006. Then came the national team: interim in 2016, permanent in February 2018.
Results came fast. Banyana reached the 2018 WAFCON final. A first World Cup followed in 2019. Then, in Rabat on 23 July 2022, two Hildah Magaia goals beat hosts Morocco 2-1 for the country's first continental title. At the 2023 World Cup, Thembi Kgatlana's stoppage-time goal beat Italy 3-2. First win. Round of 16.
“They fought like warriors,” Ellis said that night.
Super Falcons fans know the other side. At the 2024 WAFCON, played in Morocco in July 2025, Ellis's team edged Senegal on penalties, then lost 2-1 to Nigeria in the Casablanca semi-final when Michelle Alozie scored in stoppage time, and finished fourth after a shootout defeat to Ghana.
The 2026 WAFCON ended in the quarter-finals, 2-1 to hosts Morocco in Rabat. Hence the play-off against Nigeria. Next up are the intercontinental play-offs in November. Brazil 2027 is the prize. First come two Olympic qualifiers against Madagascar on 9 and 13 October.
Her contract saga dragged on for months. In October 2025 SAFA's National Executive Committee gave her four more years.
“I am happy that everything is settled,” SAFA president Danny Jordaan said.
Desiree Ellis salary and net worth
No figure has been published. When members of Parliament pressed SAFA for coaches' pay in late 2025, chief executive Lydia Monyepao cited the Protection of Personal Information Act. That leaves the honest answer to the monthly salary question where it stood in 2023, because anyone quoting a precise rand figure for her wages is guessing rather than reporting from a SAFA document or a signed contract.
Daily Maverick reported she was unhappy with SAFA's first offer. No amount was given. We have removed the net worth estimates this page carried in 2023, because no published source supports them.
For the squad, see our guide to Banyana Banyana players' salaries.
Partner, wife and children: what she has said
Many readers search for Desiree Ellis's partner, wife or children. She has never spoken publicly about a partner, a marriage or children. She keeps that private, and so will we.
What she has shared is about her wider family. She has called her mother her “biggest prayer warrior” and told Glamour that a sister and brother-in-law who live in Australia came to the 2023 World Cup.
Honours have followed. She received the National Order of Ikhamanga in April 2023, and an honorary doctorate from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in April 2024, which is why South African media now call her Dr Desiree Ellis.
Desiree Ellis FAQ
How old is Desiree Ellis?
She was born on 14 March 1963, so she is 63.
Is Desiree Ellis still Banyana Banyana coach?
Yes, under a contract agreed in late 2025.
What is Desiree Ellis's monthly salary?
It is not public, and SAFA has declined to release coaches' pay details.
Has Ellis faced the Super Falcons as coach?
Often. Nigeria won the 2025 WAFCON semi-final 2-1, and South Africa won the 2026 play-off by the same score. For the Falcons' bench, see our piece on the Super Falcons coach salary.
This article was most recently revised and updated 5 hours ago
