Nigeria Women Football League and WAFU B Champions, Bayelsa Queens will today face Mamelodi Sundowns in their first game of the 2022 CAF Women’s Champions League in Morocco, the PUNCH reports.
Aside from being Bayelsa Queens first taste of action in the tournament, the fixture will also rekindle the Nigeria, South Africa rivalry as far as women’s football is concerned in Africa.
Bayelsa Queens and Mamelodi Sundowns are drawn in Group B, which also has the record-time winner of the Egyptian, Wadi Degla, and TP Mazembe.
While Sundowns are coming into the second edition as defending champions, Bayelsa Queens also have qualified for the tournament with an impressive record after winning the West African Football Union (WAFU) B’s zonal qualifiers in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
The Nigerians defeated Ghana’s Ampem Dorkoa Ladies 3-0 in the final to pick the ticket.
Ahead of their opener, Bayelsa Queens head coach, Doma Okara, is optimisic about his team’s chances.
“We are fully prepared and that is why we arrived in Morocco seven days to the kick-off of the tournament. This is to enable us to acclimatise and familiarise ourselves with the food, weather and all that. We have also played a couple of friendly matches with clubsides in Morocco, to keep the girls fit and ready for the tournament.”
“I have spoken with the players on the need to give their best, even up to 150 percent effort if possible. We are hopeful about the outcome of the game,” Okara said.
Meanwhile, Mamelodi Sundowns head coach, Jerry Tshabalala, says he isno stranger of the Nigerian champions.
“We are blessed with a very sound technical team that has been proactive in scouting our opponents,” Tshabalala told reporters following his team’s arrival in Marrakech.
“Although it’s been difficult for us to obtain clips of our rivals, we have acquired some from Bayelsa Queens and Congo’s TP Mazembe.
“It’s a bit of a challenge to get clips of Wadi Degla but we know what to expect considering that we played Morocco’s AS FAR last year,” Tshabalala told CAFOnline.com.
