30 October 2018 – Head coach of the Sasol-sponsored Banyana Banyana, Desiree Ellis, is in Zurich, Switzerland to attend the inaugural FIFA Coach Mentorship Programme.
Ellis was in camp with her squad to prepare for the upcoming 2018 Africa Cup of Nations tournament scheduled for Ghana next month – assistant coach Thinasonke Mbuli is in charge of the squad in Ellis’ absence.
She is expected back in the country on Wednesday, 31 October to continue with Banyana Banyana’s preparations for Ghana.
As part of FIFA’s commitment to increase the opportunities that exist within football for female coaches, the inaugural FIFA Coach Mentorship Programme began on 29 October 2018 at FIFA’s House of Football in Switzerland.
The new project is designed to support female coaches by enabling them to acquire new knowledge, skills and experience that they can harness in their careers.
Female coaches from all over the world have gathered in Zurich for the two-day workshop, where they will be paired with colossal names of women’s football, allowing them to benefit from invaluable first-hand advice, gain new ideas and share best practice.
Communication between the female coaches and their mentors will continue after the workshop, with the programme concluding in November 2019.
The FIFA Coach Mentorship Programme comes after FIFA recently launched the first-ever global strategy for women’s football, which came earlier this month.
The programme charts the way in which FIFA will work with confederations and Member Associations (MAs), clubs and players, the media, fans and other stakeholders to realise the full potential that exists within the women’s game.
Below is the list of the coach and mentor pairings:
Rae Dower: Australia Women’s U-17 National Team Head Coach
Kay Cossington: Head of Women’s National Development Teams & Talent at The FA (2017-present)
Beatriz Vaz e Silva: Brazil Women’s National Team Assistant Coach
Jorge Vilda: Spain Women’s National Team Head Coach (2015-present)
Silviya Radoyska: Bulgaria Women’s U-19 National Team Head Coach
Dean Klafuric: Croatia Women’s National Team Head Coach (2009-2012), Legia Warsaw Men’s Assistant Coach (2017)
Andrea Nyamsi: Cameroon Women’s U-20 National Team Goalkeeper Coach
Ives Serneels: Belgium Women’s National Team Head Coach (2011-present)
Pascal Zuberbuhler: Switzerland National Team Goalkeeper (1994-2008), Derby County Goalkeeper Coach (2015-2017)
Rhian Wilkinson: Canada Women’s U-17 National Team Head Coach
Hope Powell: England Women’s National Team Head Coach (1998-2013), Manager of Brighton & Hove Albion WFC (2017-present)
Yunjie Fan: China PR Women’s National Team Assistant Coach
Austin MacPhee: Heart of Midlothian FC Men’s Team Assistant Coach (2016-present), Northern Ireland Men’s National Team Assistant Coach (2014-present)
Anouschka Bernhard: Germany Women’s U-17 National Team Head Coach
Pia Sundhage: USA Women’s National Team Head Coach (2007-2012), Sweden Women’s National Team Head Coach (2012-2017), Sweden Women’s U15-U17 National Team Head Coach (2017-present)
Yuen Ting Chan: Eastern Sports Club Men’s Team Head Coach (Hong Kong)
Corinne Diacre: Clermont Foot Men’s Head Coach (2014-2017), France Women’s National Team Head Coach (2017-present)
Maymol Rocky: India Women’s National Team Head Coach
Even Pellerud: Norway Women’s National Team Head Coach (1989–1996), Canada Women’s National Team Head Coach (1999-2008), Trinidad & Tobago Women’s National Team Head Coach (2008-2012), Norway Women’s National Team Head Coach (2012-2015)
Patrizia Panico: Italy Men’s U-15 National Team Head Coach
Sarina Wiegman: The Netherlands Women’s National Team Head Coach (2017-present)
Toni Cowan: Jamaica Women’s U-15 National Team Head Coach
Francisco Neto: Portugal Women’s National Team Head Coach (2014-present)
Monica Vergara: Mexico Women’s U-17 National Team Head Coach & Mexico Women’s U-20 National Team Assistant Coach
Jill Ellis: USA Women’s U-21 National Team Head Coach (2000, 2005), USA Women’s U-20 National Team Head Coach (2009–2010), USA Women’s National Team Head Coach (2012, 2014-present)
Gemma Lewis: New Zealand Women’s U-20 and U-17 National Team Assistant Coach
Asako Takemoto: Japan Women’s National Team Head Coach (2016-present)
Epifania Benitez: Paraguay Women’s U-20 National Team Head Coach
Jorge Vilda: Spain Women’s National Team Head Coach (2015-present)
Nina Patalon: Poland Women’s U-17 National Team Head Coach
Anna Signeul: Sweden Women’s U-16 and U-18 National Team Head Coach (1996-2004), Scotland Women’s National Team Head Coach (2005-2017), Finland Women’s National Team Head Coach (2017-present)
Salma Almajdi: Al-Ahly Al-Gedaref Men’s Club Head Coach (Sudan)
Desiree Ellis: South Africa Women’s National Team Head Coach (2016-present)
Malin Levenstad: Assistant Coach of FC Rosengard
Kay Cossington: Head of Women’s National Development Teams & Talent at The FA (2017-present)
Stephanie Spielmann: Tahiti Women’s National Team Head Coach
Ives Serneels: Belgium Women’s National Team Head Coach (2011-present)
Houriya Hussain: UAE Women’s National Team and U-16 Head Coach
Vera Pauw: Scotland Women’s National Team Head Coach (1998-2004), The Netherlands Women’s National Team Head Coach (2004-2010), Russia Women’s National Team Head Coach (2011), South Africa Women’s National Team Head Coach (2014-2016), Houston Dash Head Coach (2017-2018)
Hadijah Namuyanja: Uganda Women’s U-17 National Team Head Coach
Desiree Ellis: South Africa Women’s National Team Head Coach (2016-present)
Sithethelelwe Sibanda: Zimbabwe Women’s National Team Coach
Pia Sundhage:USA Women’s National Team Head Coach (2007-2012), Sweden Women’s National Team Head Coach (2012-2017), Sweden Women’s U15-U17 National Team Head Coach (2017-present)
Statement from FIFA.com