Jordaan confirms Ellis’s contract renewal and tasks her with Banyana rebuild

Jordaan confirmed the news to the media at the Amajimbos send-off to the FIFA U17 World Cup this morning, at the OR Tambo Airport, a function that Ellis also attended. Banyana qualified for next year’s WAFCON this week, without Ellis on the bench as her contract negotiations continued to drag.

Jordaan says Ellis can now focus on improving the team.

"She has signed her contract, she is happy, and I'm happy that everything is settled. You can see after she delivered her words of encouragement to the u/17's that she is back. 

"Now, we have to rebuild Banyana Banyana and look at alternatives and younger players to drive us forward."

READ: Andile Dlamini - Banyana Banyana chasing a comeback at WAFCON 2026

The latest contract will take Ellis’ tenure as the Banyana coach to 13 years, having been in charge of the team from 2016, just after Vera Pauw left the team following the conclusion of the Rio Olympics.

But, Jordaan says there’s a need to improve Banyana for the better, not just against the stronger teams like Nigeria and Morocco, but the rest of the teams at the WAFCON.

"We are focusing on Morocco and Nigeria, although they aren't the only two. Ghana, Senegal, and Congo are all on the rise, so we cannot afford to rest on our laurels."

After failing to defend their title in Morocco this year, there have been concerns about the declining performances of Banyana Banyana.

Jordaan says there are a lot of factors to consider, and he says some of them come from the standard and physical conditioning of locally based players.

"We just have to sit down with Desiree to discuss and deal with this issue. You could see in the latter stages of the second half, some of them are walking, so they must do more and train harder to reach a competitive level for WAFCON."

Meanwhile, Jordaan says it’s a proud moment for them to be sending yet another team to the World Cup, as the U17 national team head out to Qatar tonight for the tournament that starts on Monday.

Amajimbos’ preparations for this tournament have not been without drama, as the lack of funding and matric exams have affected most of their plans.