South African Shilene Booysen is a woman on a mission – to make a difference wherever she goes!
She is currently in charge of Wadi Degla Women’s Team in Egypt which has a lot of youngsters but are holding their own in the Women’s Football League.
After 16 games they are third on the table with 41 points, just five adrift of log leaders FC Masar, the defending champions.
Egyptian Women’s Premier League winners in 2022, Wadi Degla missed out on the title last season – but one thing they have managed to get correct is bring stability to the team, thanks to Booysen.
It’s been a while since they had players in the national team, and now six have been called up to represent their country in the 2026 CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) qualifiers against Rwanda.
“We have not had any players for a while in the Senior Women’s National team, now we have six called up. I am so excited and that is why I say growth and success are measured very differently for everyone. We also have about four players in the U17 side and another four in the U20 squad. What a difference a year can make,” said an elated Booysen from her base in Egypt.
The first clash in the qualifiers is away in Kigali on 21 February, with the return leg set for Ismailia, Egypt on 25 February.
Previously with the South African Senior Women’s National team as Performance Analyst, she left the continent to join Houston Dash as an assistant coach to former Banyana Banyana head coach, Vera Pauw.
She was back with the South Africans for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup as a Technical Advisor, helping the team rewrite the history books by reaching the Round of 16 – the first and only South African national team to achieve the feat.
Prior to that, she was in charge of the South Sudan Senior Women’s National team.
After spending just over a year in Egypt, the South African is enjoying every minute of her time in North Africa.
She spoke to CentreCircle.online about her time in North Africa.
It’s been over a year since you moved to Egypt, how has the experience been like so far?
I love it here. The Egyptian people are some of the friendliest that I have met anywhere in the world. I live in an amazing space here in Cairo. The food is good. My players are like my own and the club is like family. I could not have asked for a better team to be a part of.
Third on the table currently – what are the chances of Women’s Champions League football next year – looking at the top two teams: FC Masar and Al Ahly?
Recently we played defending champions FC Masar and drew 1-1. Unless we win the league we cannot even think CAF Champions League so we are fighting hard to end on top of the table come the end of the season. The second round of the league is very different to the first round as I think all the top teams will face each other again, that means there is always a chance. We will never give up until the end of the league season.
Having tasted Women’s Champions League in 2022, how badly does the team want to go back?
What team now in Africa does not want to play Champions league football? Firstly, with the prizemoney being made available to the teams who participate and the further you progress the more you get. That should be a huge motivation alone. Of course there is also the pride for this team. They have a rich legacy and now that we have rebuilt the team, they want to continue building a new legacy. We want to play at the highest level but first we need to become the champions in Egypt again.
How would you rate the Egyptian league in comparison to neighbours Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and the likes?
I can only guage it with Masar narrowly losing out to ASFAR in the semi-finals of the Champions League. I think the league is fast growing and already more foreign players are allowed to partcipate in the league. That means we are closing the gap very fast on Morocco. In terms of the other UNAF countries and their leagues, I have not seen much but based on Masar’s dominance over them in the qualifiers, its clear that we might have overtaken them in terms of growth and strength.
Women’s football on the continent is on the rise – where would you rate it?
If you see how many players we have now exported to the European and Mexican and US leagues, its very clear we are narrowing the gap. We need to make sure we close it completely with our teams becoming competitive when going to global tournaments. I think our leagues still has a way to go as many of them have not yet been fully professionalised which makes it hard on players to earn a living from it and also to continue to get better as they play, study and work, all at the same time.
Based on the above, what needs to be done to get Africa on par with the rest of the world?
Continuous education and also upgrade in technology use. Our players are still very new to the latest technology being used in all professional teams and leagues. The way currently data is being used to analyse and select players on predictive insights and making informed decisions on performances of players is critical to catching up to the rest of the world. Looking at the last world cup and how well the African teams performed, tells me we are making strides in the right direction. More competitions at the highest level will also be something that will raise the profile of our National teams. In Europe they now have a nations leauge where the national teams play each other on a regular basis during the FIFA breaks, might be something to think about going forward.
On a personal level, will we see you coaching in South Africa anytime soon?
Currently my contract is with Wadi Degla and my heart is here too. The players are amazing and the club treats me with so much respect. I cannot think for now that I want to be anywhere else.
By Matlhomola Morake
