Desiree Ellis has been associated with Banyana Banyana, the South African women’s national football team, for 30 years – initially making her mark as a player (1993–2002), before transitioning to coaching. Taking the experience of 32 caps, including captaining the team when South Africa won the inaugural Cosafa Women’s Cup in 2002, she went on to become the most successful women’s coach in South Africa.

After a stint as assistant coach to Vera Pauw, Desiree was officially appointed head coach in 2018 and continued adding to her outstanding resumé. A high point came in 2022 when she coached Banyana Banyana to the Wafcon title in Morocco. The win also earned the team automatic qualification for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

But Desiree’s inspiring football journey began many years before on the streets of Salt River in Cape Town where she developed the strength and skills that earned her the nickname ‘Magic’ on the field. Back then soccer boots were only dreamed of and it was her Bata Toughees school shoes that suffered the wear and tear, often to the despair of her hardworking parents. In the early days of the Athlone Celtic women’s side, it was a family affair: (Uncle) Eddie took on the role of coach, (Mom) Natalie’s seamstress skills saw them all kitted out, and (Dad) Ernest handled everything else, from transport to scheduling games.

When Desiree’s talent and dedication saw her become a serious contender at league and then provincial level, and finally gave her a chance to play with and against the world’s best, there was no stopping her. As South Africa emerged from sporting exile after the dark days of apartheid and stepped up to the international stage, Desiree proved to everyone who believed in her that dreams can come true.

Lifting the Covers is the inside story of South African cricket's journey to reinvent itself after years in the international wilderness. Using key figures, Hansie Cronje, Makhaya Ntini, Ray White and Ali Bacher, the book tells the story of South Africa's national summer game from an insider's perspective. It looks at the debates, the administrative crises and the Cronje affair as key episodes in the unfolding history of game that has struggled in post-apartheid South Africa to keep its traditional constituency on the one hand while embracing a new constituency on the other. The onfield activities during this era are also discussed, with particular attention being paid to South Africa's 1999 World Cup campaign, the tour by England in the summer of 1999/2000 and South Africa's subsequent tour of India, the tour which led to Cronje's fall from grace. The author argues that while the UCBSA (United Cricket Board of South Africa) have had no alternative but to transform the game over which they preside, their noble initiative has sometimes met with disastrous results-the Hansie Cronje affair being the most notable example. Finally, the debate to transform cricket is in many ways also the story of contemporary South Africa, a country that is struggling to transform itself into an enlightened, workable democracy. The lessons learnt by cricket are lessons pertinent to the country as a whole.

IN 2019, SOUTH AFRICA CELEBRATES 25 years of democracy and the freedom that turned the country from a political pariah to one warmly embraced by the world. Nowhere was the welcome more visible, or more emotional, than in sport. Vuvuzela Dawn tells the stories of that return.

From Bafana Bafana’s Africa Cup of Nations win to the fabled ‘438’Proteas game, we go behind the scenes of the great moments and record-breaking triumphs from 1994 to the present. From Caster Semenya and Wayde van Niekerk to Benni McCarthy and Kevin Anderson, from twin World Cup rugby victories to the traumas of Kamp Staaldraad and Hansie Cronjé, Vuvuzela Dawn reveals the sporting dramas and passions that defined a quarter century.

The triumphs, the heartbreaks, the glory, the controversies, the heroes and the villains - South Africa's sporting history is one of drama and greatness. Often it has been a drama acted out on a huge international stage, sometimes only a handful of aficionados watch from under umbrellas next to muddy fields. But wherever South African have played, there has always been one spectator for whom it was more important than a game - the sport writer. This is a collection of South African sports writing.

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger PublishingA AcentsAcentsa A-Acentsa Acentss Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of intere

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone