Desiree Ellis welcomes new women’s football coaches in Africa

Recently, Zambia named former Swiss international defender Nora Hauptle as the new Copper Queens head coach, while Ghana appointed Swedish coach Kim Lars Björkegren to lead the Black Stars.

“It’s not easy working on the African continent; things are not as smooth as where the European coaches come from, but hopefully, they can make a difference like coach Vera (Pauw) did," said Ellis.

"Coach Vera came here and really made a huge difference, and we just carried on from there—everything that she's put in place and carried on from there.

"So hopefully we can see the continent growing and getting better because I still believe that a woman's team on the continent is going to win a World Cup before a men's team."

Hauptle replaces Bruce Mwape as head coach of the Copper Queens, a move Ellis acknowledges with high praise for the outgoing Zambian tactician.

“I thought Bruce had done fantastically well, I don't think he gets the credit he deserves. He’s gotten the results – back-to-back Olympics and World Cups," she added.

"Unfortunately, they want to take a different direction, but I take my hat off to him and to the work that he's done. Hopefully, he can still add more value to Zambian football.

"Because, for a coach to have achieved that, it's not just someone you pick up from the street, it's someone who's done extremely well, and we all know with the limited resources we have that he's done that well, so I take my hat off to him."

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