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Cape Town - It could go either way for Desiree Ellis, who is more than keen to be Banyana Banyana’s full-time coach.
Banyana take on Sweden in an international friendly at Cape Town Stadium on Sunday afternoon, which will tell how far they have come as a team.
But this could be Ellis’s last chance to prove, once and for all, that she deserves the job.
The former captain has been acting in the position for more than a year and will on Sunday know whether she is coming or going.
But Sunday's game will give her an opportunity to assert her right to the job.
Banyana are using the friendly to prepare for the CAF African Women’s Championships, which will be held in Ghana later this year.
Third time lucky
Banyana will play either Lesotho or Swaziland in the qualifiers in June for a place in the finals in Ghana.
But they will also play in the 11th edition of the Cyprus Women’s Cup against Slovakia, Hungary, and Trinidad and Tobago next month.
Sweden, who are ranked 10th in the world, will participate in the 2019 World Cup qualifiers and will play Hungary in April.
After going to Sweden twice, Banyana will be hoping it is third time lucky for them. They lost both their previous meetings with the team – the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games.
Banyana, the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations Women’s Championship champions, who were named CAF’s women national team of the year a fortnight ago, will be out to continue where they left off in Zimbabwe in September, when they lifted the regional title.
But, for Ellis, the focus will be on her future.
Kickoff is at 14:00.
