AWCON
‘La Decima’ seeking Super Falcons open title defence with South African clash on 4 July
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
Multiple times defending champions, Nigeria Super Falcons, seeking what the Spanish call ‘La Décima’ – a 10th title, will begin their latest title defence with a potentially titanic battle with their fiercest opponents, the South African Bayana Bayana.
It was in similar fashion that they opened their 2016 title defence in Cape Coast Stadium, Ghana when the 2018 edition kicked off.
Super Falcons lost that opening game, 1-0 but recovered enough to beat the South Africans in the final match which initially ended goalless after extra time. The Nigerian side prevailed 4-3 on penalties to win their ninth title.
Indeed, they have an unfinished business with the South Africans when they meet them again on 4 July at the Prince Héritier Moulay El Hassan Stadium in Rabat.
The South Africans shocked the Falcons in Lagos with a 4-2 defeat last September when they met in the last match of the Aisha Buhari invitational tournament.
On match day two of Group C on 7 July, the Falcons will be having their very first encounter with Botswana.
While they will face Burundi on 10 July in another match which is the first ever between the two teams. The opening match of the tournament will be between hosts, Morocco and Burkina Faso.
Cameroon will face Zambia in the Group B opening match.
Democratic Republic of Congo side, TP Mazembe are officially the champions of the CAF Women’s Champions League Morocco 2024.
A highly tactical and hard fought 1-0 victory in the final played in El Jadida’s Stade Ben Ahmed El Abdi against former champions and hosts, AS FAR saw the DR Congo side crowned the new champions of Africa for the first time – wiping away tears of their 2022 group stage exit.
With the crowd backing the hosts, Mazembe showed great resilience and courage in taking the match to the former champions who remain in search for what has been an elusive second title for them.
The deciding goal of the fourth edition of the tournament came courtesy of a converted spot kick by Marlene Kasaj in the opening 10 minutes, which Mazembe protected throughout the match to seal the historic victory.
Despite the early concession, AS FAR kept believing and surged forward in search of the leveller, but a resolute Mazembe defense kept the clean sheet throughout the opening half.
Coming back from the break, it was surprisingly Mazembe who looked more dangerous as they came out strong in an attempt to kill off the game.
The hosts eventually found their rhythm but again were met by a disciplined Mazembe defense, who kept the former champions at bay to secure Africa’s most sought-after women’s club football crown.
In addition to the coveted CAF Women’s Champions League trophy, TP Mazembe also take home $600 000 in prize money, while runners-up AS FAR take home $400 000.
-CAF
BY JOSEPH ODOEKWU
The National Chairman of the Nigeria Football Supporters Club (NFSC) Samuel Ikpea has tipped the Super Falcons of Nigeria to claim their 10th African Women’s Cup of Nations title in Morocco when they begin their campaign next year.
Ikpea’ remarks came after the Friday night draw that put Algeria, Tunisia and Botswana in the same group with the Super Falcons.
“Our girls are going to play in a group with two North African countries (Tunisia and Algeria). “It is going to be interesting, and I am optimistic that our girls will scale from our group”.
Nigeria will tackle two North African teams – Tunisia and Algeria – as well as Botswana, in Group B of the 13th Women Africa Cup of Nations finals taking place in Morocco next summer.
The Falcons will surely relish another meeting with Algeria’s Green Ladies, whom they defeated 2-0 and 4-1 respectively in two friendly matches in Nigeria last month.
Botswana eliminated Gabon in the qualifying series and Tunisia were the quarter-finalists at the last edition also hosted by Morocco.
At the draw conducted on Friday evening at the Technical Centre of the Mohamed VI Football Complex in Sale, outside Rabat, host nation Morocco, earlier slotted into Group A, learnt they will have to cope with Zambia, Senegal and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Cup holders South Africa are in Group C and will square up to Ghana, Mali and Tanzania in the three-week, 12-nation final tournament taking place 5th – 26th July 2025.
Hosts Morocco finished as runners-up in the last edition in July 2022, with Zambia taking the bronze after a 1-0 defeat of Nigeria in the third-place match.
GROUP A: Morocco, Zambia, Senegal, DR Congo
GROUP B: Nigeria, Tunisia, Algeria, Botswana
GROUP C: South Africa, Ghana, Mali, Tanzania
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