Mahira Ali: "FC Masar will compete for honours in the CAF Women’s Champions League
Tournament debutants, FC Masar (Formerly known as Tutankhamun) will be aiming for top honours at the CAF Women’s Champions League Morocco 2024 this month.
This is according to their start players, Mahira Ali who said despite the team being debutants, they were aiming at causing major upsets and potentially going all their way on first attempt.
Morocco plays host to the third fourth edition of Africa’s premier women’s club football between 09 – 23 November where eight of the best clubs from across the continent will battle it out for the continental crown.
Ali speaks to CAFOnline on her team’s chances in Morocco as well as her personal goals for the tournament.
CAFonline.com: Congratulations on qualifying for the CAF Women’s Champions League, what does this mean to you?
Mahira Ali: We thank God for this qualification for the final stages of the CAF Women's Champions League. This is a great achievement for the club, and we hope to offer an honourable performance for Egyptian football.
We know it will not be easy, but we believe we have a lot to add in this competition.
FC Masar made a good appearance at the UNAF qualifiers, reaching second place. What would you attribute this to?
We approached the qualifications with a spirit of competition. We invested ourselves thoroughly during training and carefully followed our coach's instructions. We also understood the importance oof such a competition and what it would mean for our careers – this really motivated us to push ourselves beyond all limits.
How did it feel securing a place at the CAF Women’s Champions League finals and what goals has the team set for itself in Morocco?
We were all overwhelmed with joy when our qualification was confirmed. This was our goal since our victory in the Egyptian championship. Now, our goal is to perform at the highest level in the finals and compete for our first continental title.
We are not naïve about how difficult this will be, but we have shown great character as a team and great belief in ourselves, which has gotten us this far and could push us to the finish line.
You will be facing powerful African teams, some of which have already won the title. How do you see this competition?
It will certainly be a very tough and competitive tournament because the finals bring together the eight best teams in Africa, with experienced clubs that have already won the title.
At FC Masar club, we respect each team and hope to be up to the task, with the ambition of winning the title, God willing.
