★ Africa Women's Football thread - 'We Are Champions'

★ The Caf Women's Champions League has its first confirmed team, and they are...

Wadi Degla, champions of Egypt - the continental finals are set to be hosted in their home city Cairo. It's a fair reward, since Degla have usually won the Egyptian women's title, but 2020/21 was extremely close, and club El-Gouna (from the Red Sea coast) soon took away some bragging rights. Wadi Degla won the league, seemingly only on the head-to-head results 2-1 and 2-2, if Goalzz's stats are right; El-Gouna were level on 64 points, won more matches and scored more goals, but it wasn't enough. In the cup it was different: Degla were 3rd and El-Gouna won the final in June, but also by a tiny margin. Egyptian TV livestreamed some games, Al-Ahly Bank v Degla (in blue) and the final El-Gouna v Al-Amireya (red).

 

Very sad news from the South Africa national women's team - the kit manager Aletta Ngidi died from Covid-19 complications last week. RIP.

https://www.safa.net/2021/07/13/banyana-banyana-kit-manager-passes-away-due-to-covid-19/

 

Sorry to hear that - thanks for posting. When the Covid crisis suspended play, the 1st-placed club in South Africa was Mamelodi Sundowns after 11 weeks.

★ One big step for the Women's Champions League today, 24 July, when the first qualifiers kick off in west Africa (WAFU) zone B. This 6-team tournament in Côte d'Ivoire was delayed by a week. But east Africa's Cecafa club championship is postponed from this month.

 

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Champions League now has five qualified teams - these two clubs won through from the WAFU-B zonal championship:

● Hasaacas Ladies (Ghana)
● Rivers Angels (Nigeria)
(In their final matchup, Hasaacas won 3-1)

And the winning teams in the North and WAFU-A qualifying, respectively:

● AS FAR Rabat (Morocco)
● AS Mandé (Mali)

The clubs in central Africa (Uniffac) have begun their championship, with home-and-away semifinals.

 

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★ And the CAF Women's Champions League has all 8 competitors now decided! The last 3 winning teams this month were:

● Malabo King FC (Equatorial Guinea) - the champion of central Africa (Uniffac). In the semi-final, they knocked out Cameroon's Louves Minproff, 4-0 agg., and Malabo won the final of these home-and-away knockouts, 5-1 agg., against Amani FCF from DR Congo, including a hat-trick by Drepoba Stéphanie Gbogou.

● Vihiga Queens (Kenya) - their country's capital Nairobi was able to host the eastern (Cecafa) champions' tournament in the end.
Out of 8 teams, Vihiga were only a group runner-up, losing to the Addis Ababa club, Commercial Bank of Ethiopia. Then in the semi, the western Kenyan side Vihiga knocked out the Tanzanian Simba Queens (2-1) and finally beat Commercial Bank (2-1) - a double-strike by 19-year-old Gentrix Shikangwa, whose late penalty won the Kenyans the gold.

- Final: Vihiga Queens v CBE FC [Full match]
- Match report: KTN News Kenya


● Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa) won the Cosafa title, in Durban. The semi was a close game, when Mamelodi beat the Zambian champion, Green Buffaloes (1-0, Melinda Kgadiete 44'). The final win over Black Rhinos (Zimbabwe) was sealed with two Sundowns goals in the later stages, 3-0 the final score.

The Champions League African finals are scheduled for 5-21 November 2021, in Cairo - definitely breaking new ground in continental football. There'll be team matchups we've never seen before...

..So, place your predictions today

 

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South Africa has Banyana Banyana and Mamelodi Sundowns, both great teams, one a continental champion now. ...But their big forum post will still have to wait a little later, because there is so much Vakhegula Vakhegula content to get through.

Vakhegula Vakhegula in Russia for the World Cup
www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbYehlSVVNE

 

...well, we'll see if you still feel that way, after I get round to posting every Vakhegula away trip ever. Including detailed tactical analysis. https://www.sowetanlive.co.za/sport/soccer/2019-06-25-vakhegula-avenge-banyanas-world-cup-loss/


★ Also a major event, the Women's Champions League is over - and it was another win for South Africa and for Mamelodi Sundowns. The continental champs returned home as heroes after the final against Ghana's champions:

⬤ Final, Cairo 19 Nov 2021
Mamelodi Sundowns 2 - 0 Hasaacas
Chuene Morifi 33', Andisiwe Mgcoyi 65'

 

Hasaacas from Ghana had been the top-scoring club in the Champions League until that final, and their Evelyn Badu won the golden boot with 5 goals in the championship. Badu has signed this week for Avaldsnes in Norway, as @law10 posted.

Morocco's FAR Rabat took the bronze medal home by beating the DRC's Malabo King.

The Moroccan season has been running through December in the women's Division 1 – FAR are in 2nd place, with 7 wins out of 7 and games in hand. The leaders after matchday 9 of 26 are the past champion club Laâyoune, by four points. (Laâyoune is a city outside of Morocco, in the disputed country of Western Sahara.)

Those top clubs meet in their season's first matchup in Rabat on 8 January. The rise of women's football in Morocco has been widely noticed, since the FRMF's 2020 development plan raised the budget 600%.

Moroccan champions FAR, 2020 - (AS-FAR.ma)​

 

Top referee: Salma Mukansanga from Rwanda started her international career in the Cecafa tournament, and has now made history. She's refereed in the Women's World Cup, Women's Cup of Nations, Olympics, and in 2022 the men's Afcon finals, as its first female head ref. https://www.newtimes.co.rw/sports/salma-mukansangas-rise-africas-biggest-sporting-stage / Allafrica.com / Archive

After breaking up some fisticuffs, she added, "It's a matter of pride, it's important to me and to everyone who loves sports." - (BBC Gahuza)

 

CAF's silver bullet: CAF is the latest to compel men's Champions League clubs to have women's teams too - the plan was made in 2021 for 2022/23. Not sure if it's in the rulebook already, but its effects were immediate. Zimbabwe men's champion FC Platinum has a new women's team. And after no Malawian female team entered the CL last year, one of the leading women's clubs in Malawi, Blantyre Zero, was taken over by the top men's club of all, Nyasa. But it means they now have to be called "Billy Big Bullets" or some ridiculous name.

 

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Uganda is going to the AWCON 2022, and the federation Women's Super League is about midway through the season. The 10-team league is led by She Corporate FC, who haven't won a final before. Last year, there were the celebrations of a new champion (with a star goalscorer), who beat the 2019 title-winning Cardinals:

Lady Doves 2 - 1 UCU Lady Cardinals - (Nakigozi 29, Ikwaput 78 / Kisakye 75)
Fazila Ikwaput came off the bench to score the winner in FWSL
www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1ARK1EfZEo


But that isn't the best goal she's ever scored...

Fazila Ikwaput goal against Barcelona in UEFA Women's Champions League - [BIIK-Kazygurt 3, Barça 1, 2018]
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tPvCAqZ5xc