Jerry Tshabalala: We are definitely going to bring it home
The love of the fans is the real driving force for Mamelodi Sundwns who are eagerly waiting for the CAF TotalEnergies Women's Champions League. The final eight-team tournament will take place from November 5 to 9 in Cairo.
After the draw that determined the composition of the groups, head coach Jerry Tshabalala stepped forward, analyzing his next opponents.
“We are very excited, we found ourselves in very though group B where we are drawn against Vihiga Queens from Kenya, Rivers Angels from Nigeria and ASFAR Rabat from Morocco.” Said the South African Club head coach.
He added; “It is an exciting group. I am really happy that we’ve Rivers Angels in our group, I am also happy that we’ve got Vihiga Queens from Kenya. Fortunately, now I have managed to see some of their games that they have been playing during their qualifiers.
“The only closed book to us is ASFAR Rabat, we need to go out there and find out how they play, how they apply themselves. For Rivers Angels, we know it is a big team from Nigeria. We saw them when they played against Hasaacas. During the group stage, they’ve won, but going into the final Hasaacas came back strongly and beat them.”
Ambitions remain high for the South African representatives. After being sparkling during the COSAFA qualifying tournament, a new feat guides Mamelodi Sundowns.
“So basically, it is going to be a tough group. We are ready to go to Egypt and then conquer Africa. If one wants to be the champion, you need to play against a strong opponent from Africa. I am not taking anything away from Vihiga Queens. They've got one of the best strikers in Jentrix Shikangwa. So, we are not just singling out any players, but we were doing our homework. We're ready for them. We are looking forward to representing South Africa quite well. This is going to be a nice tournament for us and even for the girls to go out there and gage themselves. “
The Pretoria-based club has a great fan base that pushes to always give the best.
“How can I forget to thank the management with the support that they've been giving us? Yeah, they've been behind us, they’ve been supporting us.
“Also, our supporters, they are looking forward to this tournament. On social media, they've been browsing, urging us to bring the glory home. We are not going to bring them down; we are definitely going to bring it home”, he concluded.