Banyana trio shortlisted for Caf awards

Banyana Banyana captain Janine van Wyk and striker Thembi Kgatlana have made the top 10 shortlist for the Africa Female Footballer of the Year award, while head coach Desiree Ellis made the cut as one of the top three top female coaches in the continent.

The trio were recognised following their history-making moments at the recent Africa Women Cup of Nations held in Ghana, where Ellis became the first coach to guide the South African senior national women’s team to their first Fifa Women’s World Cup qualification which will be held in France next year and finished the competition as runners-up.

Ellis began her role as the permanent Banyana head coach in February this year after serving on an interim basis since 2016.

Some of her achievements as Banyana coach include back-to-back Cosafa Cup wins in 2017 and 2018.

Meanwhile, Kgatlana was voted the player of the tournament at the AWC following her amazing performance, which even saw her finish the competition as the top goal scorer with five goals, while skipper Van Wyk’s consistent performance and leading the Banyana team to the final of the tournament is what got her the nod for the nominee of the prestigious award.

The awards will be held on January 8, 2019, in Dakar, Senegal.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.