Former Bafana Bafana coach ready to steer UCT’s Women’s Football

Former Bafana Bafana international Nasief Morris has taken the reins of the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Women’s Football team at a time when they set their sights on competing well in the 2025 Hollywoodbets Super League.

The team will make its debut in the league following their qualification after a strong showing in the Sasol League Western Cape last year. Morris, who began his journey with Santos in Cape Town before venturing into European football with stints at Aris Thessaloniki and Panathinaikos in Greece; Recreativo de Huelva and Racing Santander in Spain; and Apollon Limassol in Cyprus, is excited about the learning curve on the horizon. Morris takes over from Ahmed Parker.

“It’s my first time in women’s football. I’ve watched games, and given that, my thoughts are always, football is football. I’ve got a lot of experience; I’ve played at the highest level, and I’ve been coaching since I’ve retired. My last achievement was getting Cape Town Spurs promotion to the Premier Soccer League (for the 2023/24 season). This is an interesting and exciting challenge for me to take on board,” said Morris.

“I’m looking forward to working with them and certainly with the technical team, we will work as a unit because that’s how we will best succeed.”

With playing in the Hollywoodbets Super League now a reality, Morris is geared up for the challenge: “Obviously there are nerves. We are trying to guide the team as best we can. What I said to them was that I’m not coming in to change things; they have gotten themselves promoted and achieved well and for me it will be to improve more because it’s now a higher level and they need to be prepared for what’s coming.”

With a curriculum vitae as extensive as his, is Morris feeling added pressure for immediate, positive results? “Obviously playing is different from coaching. And that’s why it’s important to go on coaching courses and learn more. It’s interesting looking at things from a footballer’s perspective and then looking at it from a different side (coaching). There will be expectation from outside, of course, but in general, it will take time to get things going and get things right and it’s up to the individual to take that pressure and challenges that are coming and succeed from that,” he said.

‘I feel at home’

“The main objective is to stay in the league we’ve gained promotion to. UCT support will be tremendous. For the players, to see they have the backing of the community and UCT will certainly be a boost.”

Senior player and forward, Thambolinye Mzoneli, a BCom Economics and Finance final-year student, who was encouraged by former coach Parker to join UCT, said, “The goal is to maintain our place in the league now that we are in the Hollywoodbets Super League.”

Having started as a midfielder and now playing upfront, Mzoneli added that she prefers the freedom that comes with playing as a forward. “I found it [being a forward player] to be my most comfortable position. It allows me to use a lot of my strengths.”

Mzoneli has been with the team since 2020. She enjoys the flexibility of the team and the relationship the coaches have with the players. “I feel at home. [Parker], as previous coach, is the one who encouraged me to come to UCT when I was training at the University of the Western Cape. And he had asked at the time that I be part of the team that qualifies for the Hollywoodbets Super League, and he did well in supporting the players. He’s a great coach and what he planned for us happened.”

The technical team supporting Morris includes Shaquille Williams as assistant coach, Mark Kapman as goalkeeper coach, and former Orlando Pirates stalwart Kamal Sait as coach educator.

Fixtures for this season are yet to be announced.