The third edition of CAF Women’s Champions League Zonal Qualifiers kicked off on Saturday 12th August, 2023 at FUFA Technical Centre, Njeru.
Ethiopians giants C.B.E FC defeated Buja Queens 2-1 in the opening game of the tournament.
Lora Abera and Aregash Tadesse‘s second half strikes which cancelled out Topistar Situma‘s 14th minute opener for the Burundi representatives.
In the second game, Uganda’s representatives Kampala Queens FC got their campaign to a flying start, winning 3-0 against Yei Joint Stars. Striker Fazila Ikwaput scored all the three goals.
Vihiga Queens and Simba Queens are the previous winners of the CAF Women’s Champions League Zonal Qualifiers in 2021 and 2022 respectively.
Here are the records and players to watch in the tournament.
RECORDS
In the first edition in 2021, Lady Doves midfielder Riticia Nabbosa netted the first ever goal of the tournament when Lady Doves humiliated FAD FC of Djibouti 5-0 in the opening game.
Loza Abera of Commercial Bank of Ethiopia has the most goals scored in a single tournament, netting 13 goals in the maiden tournament held in Kenya in 2021.
Loza Abera was also the first player to win the golden boot. She scored 13 goals in the first tournament and also won the golden boot in 2022 in Tanzania when she scored 11 goals.
She holds the record of most goals in the tournament, a total of 25 goals.
Fazila Ikwaput‘s 8 goals is the most scored by a Ugandan player in the tournament. Phionah Nabbumba and Favor Nambatya follow her with 6 and 4 goals each, respectively.
Every host country has gone on to win the Championship. In 2021, Kenya hosted and Vihiga Queens won the title while in 2022, the tournament was held in Tanzania and won by Simba Queens.
Goalkeeper Daisy Nakaziro was the first goalkeeper to win the golden glove (best goalkeeper). She won the award in 2021 when Lady Doves won the bronze medal.
Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, Yei Joint Stars (South Sudan) and AS Kigali WFC (Rwanda) are the only teams to appear in every tournament.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
1- Loza Abera (Commercial Bank of Ethiopia)
Striker Loza Abera has never won the tournament and this year’s edition is her third appearance in the championship however, her abilities and records, rank her as the top player to watch in the tournament.
Loza Abera (shirt 10)
Loza has a total of 25 goals in the tournament so far and comes in the current campaign with the sole objective of winning it, having reached the finals and semifinals in 2021 and 2022 respectively.
2- Fazila Ikwaput (Kampala Queens FC)
Kampala Queens FC goal poacher Fazila Ikwaput scored five goals in the first tournament while at Lady Doves, and already added another 3 yesterday for Kampala Queens FC in their first game this campaign.
3- Anita Namata (Vihiga Queens)
The attacking midfielder will be playing her second edition having played last year with She Corporate FC and helped them to finish second.
Namata scored 10 goals and registered 7 assits for Vihiga Queens last season, and her creativity, experience and donkey work will probably help Vihiga Queens to lift the second title after winning it in 2021.
4- Medina Awol (Commercial Bank of Ethiopia)
The creative forward Medina Awol has had near perfect and consistent performances in the last two campaigns, scoring 8 goals in 2021 and 6 in 2022.
She will have to be perfect this time to help her team win the championship for the first time in their third appearance in the tournament.
5-Vivian Corazone (Buja Queens)
Corazone was the MVP in the last edition when her former side Simba Queens won the title and went on to storm the semifinals of the final tournament of CAF Women’s Champions League.
She will add her wealth experience to the debutants Buja Queens.
Notable Mentions: Asha Jafari (Buja Queens), Ruth Aturo (Vihiga Queens), Stumai Abdallah (JKT Queens), Hasifah Nassuna (Kampala Queens FC), Donisia Minja (JKT Queens), Daisy Nakaziro (Kampala Queens), among others.
Group B has Vihiga Queens, AS Kigali of Rwanda, New Generation from Zanzibar and JKT Queens of Tanzania.
Group A has Kampala Queens, CBE (Ethiopia), FAD Club (Djibouti), Buja Queens (Burundi) and South Sudan’s Yei Joint Stars
Courtesy Photos
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