The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has announced the format for the newly inaugurated CAF Women’s Champions League competition to kick start next year.
CAF announced at the launch of a new Women’s Champions League which is scheduled to kick off in 2021 that the number of teams would be increased from the ordinary CAF competition to benefit the various women clubs and players on the continent.
The CAF Executive Committee held a video-conference on Thursday, 10 September 2020 to discuss the future of competitions and key matters related to the development of the game.
The meeting was followed by a virtual press conference with CAF President Ahmad Ahmad in attendance.
Check out the new competition format below:
• Each of CAF’s six zones will organize qualifications to determine the finalists for the eight (8) team tournament. The distribution will be as follows: one team from each zone, one team from the host country and one additional team.
For the first edition, the zonal union of the host country will have two representatives. However, for the following editions, the host country will have only one representative while the reigning champion’s Zone Union will qualify two teams.
• Competition format
The eight qualified teams will be drawn into two groups of four teams each in accordance with the regulations.
• The competition will be annual and will take place during the second semester.
Quotes
Asisat Oshoala
“I am very happy to be part of this initiative and I hope that everything will fall into place. I’m pretty sure at the end of the day we’ll all be happy. After a year, we can say that we have moved forward and in two years we can take it to a higher level.”
Onome Ebi
“The Women’s Champions League is something we have been talking about for long. I’m glad it is gradually becoming a reality.”
Ajara Njoya
“Women’s football in Africa has just been reborn thanks to these efforts by CAF. It is our duty to support this great initiative and I think that strategy will really aid the development of the game on our continent.”
Gaelle Enganamouit
“The Women’s Football Strategy is going to be a huge step for the future of women’s football. We are all have to embrace and support it.”
Janine Van Wyk
“I feel honoured and privileged to be part of this meeting. Individually, it is difficult to do much, but together we can do a lot. We have so much talent in our countries and we have to expose them to the world.”
Sarah Essam
“It’s great to know that the future of African women’s football is in good hands and everyone is involved. I am very optimistic about this strategy.”
