Nigeria to defend WAFU B championship title in August

Nigeria will begin the defence of the WAFU B zone of the CAF Women Champions League title it won last year on August 18 in Cote d’Ivoire, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has said.

The competition, which qualifies teams for the CAF Women Champions League final championship, was originally scheduled to hold from September 10 to 25. It will now end on September 3, 2023.

Nigeria’s Bayelsa Queens won the last edition of the WAFU B competition in 2022 and went ahead to take the bronze medal at the full CAF championship hosted by Morocco, beating Simba Queens 1-0 in the third place match.

ASFAR of Morocco won the 2022 CAF Champions League by beating Mamelodi Sundowns 4-0 in the final. According to CAF, the seven WAFU Zone B member associations are expected to present their national champions to compete for a slot in the Women’s Champions League.

The countries include Ghana, Niger, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Benin, Togo and host Cote d’Ivoire. Hasaacas Ladies of Ghana won the first edition in 2021, while Ampem Dakoa Ladies, also of Ghana, lost 3-0 to Bayelsa Queens in the 2022 final.

The 2023 Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL) season, which will produce the country’s representatives in the competition, has two more matches to go before the title deciding Super Six championship.

The abridged league has Delta Queens, Bayelsa Queens, Rivers Angels and Naija Ratels vying for qualification for the Super Six from Group A, while Confluence Queens, FC Robo, Edo Queens and Nasarawa Amazons are battling for tickets in Group B.

Delta Queens lead Group A with 24 points from 10 matches, followed by Bayelsa Queens, Rivers Angels and Naija Ratels with 19, 16 and 14 points respectively.

Group B leaders, Confluence Queens are on 20 points from 10 matches, followed by FC Robo, which have played 11 games, on 19 points. Edo Queens and Nasarawa Amazons are on 19 and 16 points respectively from 10 games.