Monday’s CAF Women’s Champions League match between Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies and Bayelsa Queens will be Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies’ first opportunity to earn three points.
Since their arrival in the North African nation, the Brazilians have been working intensively in an effort to begin their title defense on a positive note.
Banyana Ba Style is one of just three teams from last year’s competition to return for this year’s event.
Although Sundowns Ladies were defeated 6-5 on penalties by Zambia’s Green Buffaloes in the final of the COSAFA Qualifiers, Coach Jerry ‘Kappa’ Tshabalala believes his squad has learned valuable lessons as it prepares to defend its continental title.
This season’s primary objective was to defend the titles we earned last year. We have already won the Hollywoodbets Super League, and we are completely prepared to compete for the continental championship once more. “Despite our loss in the COSAFA final, we have recognized our errors and are prepared to remedy them as soon as possible,” commented Kappa.
The Brazilians defeated Rivers Angels by a score of 1-0 in the group stage of last year’s championship. Coach Jerry believes his squad would need to perform at a high level against Bayelsa Queens, another Nigerian team.
“We must assert our dominance in the first game because it goes a long way in establishing our intentions early on.” Against the Yenagoa-based Bayelsa Queens, we must work as a team both on and off the field. We will approach each contest as if it were the championship game, as champions do. Coach Jerry said, “To effectively defend our title, our defending, pushing, and finishing must be flawless at all times.”
The CAF has announced that the tournament champions will get $400,000 in prize money, while the runners-up will receive £250,000. The losing semifinalists will receive $200,000, while the third and fourth place teams will receive $150,000 and $100,000, respectively.
The match between Sundowns Ladies and Bayelsa Queens will take held at Stade de Marrakech in Marrakesh on October 31.
CAF Women’s Champions League Group Draw
Group A: AS FAR (Morocco, hosts), Simba Queens (Tanzania), Green Buffaloes (Zambia), and Determine Girls (Liberia).
Group B: Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa, defending champions), Bayelsa Queens (Nigeria), Wadi Degla (Egypt), and TP Mazembe (DR Congo).