#4YearsOfProgress: Dr Desiree Ellis and Barbra Banda hail progress made in developing women's football in Africa

CAF

07-03-2025

TotalEnergies CAF Women's Africa Cup of Nations-winning coach Dr Desiree Ellis and reigning CAF Women's Player of the Year winner Barbra Banda are fulsome in their praise for the Confédération Africaine de Football's (CAF) efforts at developing women's football on the continent.
Dr Ellis, who has won four CAF Women's Coach of the Year titles, was an international footballer before turning her hand to coaching and has been involved at the top level of the African game for more than 30 years.
Her expertise is well respected within African football, as is her commitment to the betterment of the game, and she is delighted with the progress she has seen in recent years to develop the next generation of female coaches.
'I think there's been a massive jump,' Dr Ellis said. 'Before, there were very few courses and not much opportunity. Now you see that there are courses for women all over the continent. 'There has even been instructors' courses and refresher courses. In the past it was very slow. It was just South Africa that had courses for women, and I think at the moment, still South Africa has the most licensed women's coaches.
'But that has improved all around the continent with so many more opportunities for women.'
Since launching the female-only Coaching Courses program in 2023, CAF has been collaborating with Member Associations (MAs) to support them financially in conducting development programmes.
This initiative has already successfully reached 18 countries and has led to the completion of 21 courses, providing valuable resources and support for female coaches at various stages of their careers.
The ultimate aim is to equip them with the necessary skills and credentials, enhancing their professional development and increasing their representation within the coaching landscape.Through this collaboration and the push to include more women in coaching courses, CAF has seen remarkable results. Since 2022, 590 female coaches have attained their CAF coaching diplomas. Of this group, 498 earned the CAF C-License and 92 achieved the CAF B-License.
On the pitch, there has also been a change in recent years with the playing field being levelled and nations raising their standard quickly through better organisation and coaching.
'You just need to look at the countries that have now qualified for TotalEnergies Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), Morocco 2024 finals that will be played in July,' Ellis says. 'One quarter of the finalists at the last finals in Morocco (in 2022) have been replaced. They are not the same countries that were there the last time round and this is proof of widespread development.
'Algeria, Tanzania, Mali and Ghana are back. It means a lot of countries around the continent are in contention to qualify for the finals, which wasn't the case too many years ago.
'It used to pretty much be the same old faces all the time but now the line-up for WAFCON is more diverse. Cameroon is a country that has been a WAFCON runner-up three times previously and they have also qualified for the FIFA Women's World Cup and the Olympics Games. But they were unable to qualify for the next WAFCON. That's how competitive it is now.'
Thirty-nine teams out of CAF's 54 MAs entered the qualifiers for the TotalEnergies CAF WAFCON, Morocco 2024, up from 24 in 2018. The difference is stark. And Ellis says the introduction of the CAF Women's Champions League, with the inaugural event staged in 2021, has been a game-changer too.
'In the last regional qualifiers there were a whole lot of new winners,' she says. 'All of this is proof of how competitive the women's football landscape has become. Women's football is not standing still. If you stand still, you do so at your own peril.
'It's really improved football on the continent. Even look at the international stage and how well the African teams did at the last FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.'
Banda has been a star on the international stage for Zambia for several years having played at two Olympic Games and the FIFA Women's World Cup, and says the general feeling around African football is that the game is on the up on the continent.
"Kudos to CAF for their investment in Women's Football these past years and that should continue because that's the only way we will develop the women's game on the continent. It's a welcome move that should be supported by all,' Banda said.
"The future of women's football is very promising. It is slowly getting the respect it deserves and people are now noticing the amazing talent and are going to games to support.
"Seeing my sisters from Malawi, South Africa, Nigeria, Morocco, Ghana, Tanzania and so on going out there and showcasing their talent and putting the world on notice is something that warms my heart. It really shows that the continent has a lot of talent and is headed for greatness as far as women's football is concerned.' Banda says she has noticed an uptick in the competitive of opponents on the continent.
'We have seen the competition, it's not easy to play most teams and, of course, we have seen players making records out there and doing really well across the globe from the continent, which is amazing to see.
'It has developed well, we are on the right track. We just need more and more investment.'
Part of that has been the investment made by CAF in women's football, which includes increased prizemoney for the TotalEnergies CAF WAFCON and CAF Women's Champions League.
The recent Girls Integrated Football Tournament (GIFT), an Under-17 pilot project held in the CECAFA region, is another step forward in terms of providing international exposure for young players to help them on their football journey. This has been welcomed by Ellis.
'More competitions, especially for the youth, are needed because they only have qualifying competitions played on a knockout basis, where they play home and away, rather than in a tournament,' she says.
'And then when you have countries that withdraw, it means some teams don't play any games until they get up to the final stages. And then they have not prepared properly. With more tournaments, that will really improve football on the continent even more.'
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