Sports
Bayelsa Queens Seal Women’s African Champions League Spot
Nigerian women football clubside, Bayelsa Queens became the sixth side to qualify for the Women’s African Champions League after winning their zonal qualifier.
The Queens beat Ghana’s Ampem Darkoa Ladies 3-0 in Ivory Coast last Saturday to seal their spot at the eight-team finals, which begin in Morocco on 30 October.
The Nigerian champions join Moroccan hosts AS FAR, inaugural champions Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa and Egypt’s Wadi Degla, and will be one of four debutants in the competition.
Zambia’s Green Buffaloes, Determine Girls of Liberia and Tanzanian side, Simba Queens will also be making their first appearance.
The final qualifier, from Africa’s central zone, will be decided at a tournament in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, from 10-16 September.
The group-stage draw for the second Women’s African Champions League will be held in Morocco on Friday.
Meanwhile, Madagascar sealed an historic first appearance at the African Nations Championship (CHAN) but Nigeria and South Africa will be notable absentees from the 2022 finals in Algeria.
Ghana beat arch-rivals Nigeria on penalties after a 2-2 aggregate draw, while South Africa suffered to a 4-1 loss at home to Angola, who triumphed 6-1 overall.
Indian Ocean nation Madagascar will be the only tournament debutants despite being held 1-1 by Botswana in Antananarivo last Friday they progressed 2-1 on aggregate.
Leading nations who will be at the seventh edition of the tournament reserved for domestic-based players include title-holders Morocco, Cameroon, DR Congo, Ivory Coast and Senegal.
The defending champions, hosts Algeria and Libya were already assured of places at the finals after Egypt and Tunisia withdrew from the Northern Group.
The expanded 18-team CHAN finals are scheduled to be held from 13 January to 4 February 2023, and the group-stage draw will be conducted in Algeria on 1 October.
Trailing 2-0 after the first leg in Ghana, Nigeria staged a late rally in Abuja to win the return match 2-0 through goals from Zulkifilu Rabiu and Chijioke Akuneto, the latter through a 94th-minute penalty.
The Black Galaxies converted all five spot-kicks in the shootout while Maurice Ugochukwu missed to eliminate 2018 runners-up Nigeria.
The dramatic victory took two-time beaten finalists Ghana back to the finals after failing to qualify for the last three editions.
Africa’s most populous nation Nigeria boast one of the stronger national leagues in Africa but have reached the CHAN finals only three times – with their qualifying failures including a stunning 2020 loss to Togo.
It was yet another celebration for Ghana in the Nigerian capital city after pipping their bitter rivals to 2022 World Cup play-off ticket at the same venue in March.
In Soweto, South Africa got off to a great start with Prince Nxumalo halving the aggregate deficit by nodding home a free-kick just six minutes into the first half.
But disaster struck for the home side on 39 minutes when an attempted headed clearance by Mosa Lebusa looped over goalkeeper Reyaad Pieterse into his own net.
It left South Africa needing to score three unanswered goals to survive with a team sorely weakened by the absence of stars on club duty.
Angola grew stronger as the second half progressed with Jaredi Teixeira a constant menace on the left wing. He set up the second and fourth goals for Deivi Viera and Danilson, and Joaquim Paciencia netted the third with a free-kick that flew in off the underside of the crossbar.
Cameroon, fourth when they hosted the 2020 tournament, netted twice late in the opening half to beat Equatorial Guinea 2-0 and squeeze through, having lost 1-0 away.
Djawal Kaiba broke the deadlock on 43 minutes in the north-western city of Garoua and Souaibou Marou snatched what proved the crucial goal in stoppage time.
There was an even closer call for Ivory Coast, who beat Burkina Faso on penalties after both legs finished 0-0.
Football’s world governing body Fifa classifies CHAN matches as full internationals, and the results count toward its rankings.
Full list of qualified team for CHAN 2022: Algeria (hosts), Morocco, Libya, Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Ghana, Ivory Coast, DR Congo, Congo, Cameroon, Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Madagascar, Angola, Mozambique.
In a statement released by the league, the competition is scheduled to take place from Friday, June 5 to Sunday, June 14, 2026, with six clubs set to battle for the league title at the end of the 2025/26 season.
NWFL Chief Operating Officer, Modupe Shabi, said the choice of Port Harcourt reflects the Rivers State Government’s continued support for women’s football and its successful hosting of the league’s Annual General Assembly last year.
The Super Six tournament will feature the top three teams from Group A and Group B of the regular season competing in a round-robin format, with each club playing five matches over nine days.
Qualified teams for the competition include defending champions Bayelsa Queens, Edo Queens, Rivers Angels, Robo Queens, Nasarawa Amazons, and debutants Abia Angels.
The NWFL Premiership has produced four different winners in the last five editions, with Rivers Angels winning in 2021, Bayelsa Queens claiming the title in 2022 and 2025, Delta Queens triumphing in 2023, and Edo Queens emerging champions in 2024.
The league also urged participating clubs to comply with all competition regulations and directives ahead of the championship. The Super Six will determine Nigeria’s representative for the WAFU-B qualifiers for a place at the 2026 CAF Women’s Champions League and ultimately the 2027 FIFA Women’s Champions Cup.
Teams are expected to arrive on Friday, June 5, when the draw ceremony and pre-match meeting will also take place. Matchdays are scheduled for June 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14, with rest days in between before the tournament concludes with the trophy presentation ceremony.
