Hollywoodbets Super League outfit, TS Galaxy Queens, have wasted no time in replacing former Head Coach Sizwe Sibiya.
The Mpumalanga side has named Ashraf Calvert as the man in charge for their 2024 league campaign.
The Capetonian returns to the South African elite women’s football league after an absence of about two years.
He was last on the books of Vasco da Gama from the Western Cape but was let go after only seven matches, having promoted them to the big league at the end of 2021.
His last stint with Vasco, which was bought by TS Galaxy last season, was a 1-0 loss to Durban Ladies (Sunday, 29 May 2022).
Calvert becomes the third head coach in the Rockets hot seat, following in the footsteps of inaugural mentor, Jabulile Baloyi, who was shown the door after only six games in charge of their first season in the Hollywoodbets Super League.
Enter Sibiya, formerly with the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) whom he led to second place finish in 2022 before he was let go.
At TS Galaxy Queens, with an array of stars around him – the likes Nompumelelo Nyandeni, Nothando Vilakazi, Nicole Michael, Nomvula Kgoale, Mamello Makhabane, Busisiwe Ndimeni – they proved to be a threat to the league title, but fell short.
They could only finish in fourth place behind serial champions Mamelodi Sundowns ladies, second-placed University of the Western Cape (UWC) and JVW in third position. Sibiya was relieved of his duties last month shortly before the start of pre-season training.
After leaving Vasco, Calvert has been on a coaching mission, in both the ladies and men’s divisions.
He was involved with Clarewood JPM in the ABC Motsepe League and led them to the prestigious round of last 32 in the Nedbank Cup, but got the boot.
He immediately joined Young Bafana in the same league and in the same season, and ended up winning the title.
The Parkwood, Western Cape native also coached Rygersdal Ladies teams, playing in the RWDL and Calvert helped them gain promotion into the Regional Women’s League.
Armed with a CAF A Coaching Licence, and a BSC in Sport and Exercise Science qualification, Calvert will be hoping to challenge for the league title in only the team’s second season in the Hollywoodbets Super League – but previous experience will inform him that it will not be easy, more so because the opening three games of the season will be a big test for him and his team: JVW, Sundowns Ladies and Royal AM.
By Matlhomola Morake
