10 July 2018 – This past weekend saw the fifth Sasol League provincial roadshow take place at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
Ten KZN Sasol League teams showed off their skills and talent in the hopes of impressing Desiree Ellis, head coach of the Sasol-sponsored Banyana Banyana.
The roadshow was preceded by a coaches’ workshop facilitated by Ellis, which was designed to take Sasol League coaches through the ins and outs of player scouting, in the aim of raising the standard of women’s football.
“The KZN Sasol League roadshow was very successful. We started off with the coaches’ workshop discussing selection criteria and it was enlightening to see coaches being interactive and asking questions. The fixtures were very interesting, a lot of teams have very young players and I’m confident that their coaches will continue nurturing and conditioning them,” said Ellis.
“I would like to thank Sasol and SAFA on the scouting initiative that has been put in place this season, it will hopefully result in a broadened talent pool and a greater number of players putting up their hand for Banyana Banyana selection in the future.”
At the workshop, Ellis took the coaches through the physical, tactical, technical and mental attributes they should be looking for and encouraging in each position. She then joined the coaches for the next day’s fixtures, helping coaches implement their newly acquired skills and assessing and monitoring up-and-coming individuals for potential Banyana Banyana inclusion.
Nozipho Mbatha, Sasol Group Brand Marketing Manager, added, “It’s been an absolutely great roadshow in KZN, we were very excited to see the great standard of football on display. At the coaches workshop it was heartening to see the coaches’ hunger to learn from coach Desiree and the desire to use what they’ve learned to benefit their teams going forward. We would like to commend our partners SAFA on the scouting initiative as well as coach Desiree Ellis on her passion and dedication in implementing this.”
In the weekend’s fixtures, the standout game for the day was Lindelani Ladies vs Durban Ladies, where the former lost 5-3 to the 6-time KZN Sasol League winners.
Results from the day all here.
The Sasol League Roadshow next heads to Northern Cape on the 14th of July.
For more details, follow @SasolLeague on Twitter and Facebook.