Sundowns begin title defence, CBE and Edo Queens prepare to make their debut
After a first day full of sensations, the Women's Champions League continues this Sunday. See you in the economic capital of the country, Casablanca, where the Mamelodi Sundowns, reigning champions, will begin the Defence of their crown against the newcomer, Masar.
After an exciting take off to the CAF Women’s Champions League Morocco 2024, Day 02 of the competition gets underway on Sunday, 10 November with Group B fixtures headlined by defending champions, Mamelodi Sundowns.
CAFOnline takes a look at the Day 02 of the fixtures ahead of kick-off.
Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies - FC Masar
Egypt’s FC Masar are raring to go in their debut of the CAF Women’s Champions League.
The Egyptians take on reigning champions Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies in a north versus south battle on Sunday.
The odds may seem to be heavily stacked against Ahmed Ramadhan’s players, but speaking ahead of Sunday’s tie, the coach expressed his full belief in his charges, saying that they were motivated to take on the champions.
"We want to prove our potential. The calendar has reserved for us our most formidable opponent, the reigning champion, Mamelodi Sundowns. This is an excellent opportunity for us to optimise our level against the best," said the Egyptian coach during the pre-match press conference.
In response, coach Jerry Tshabalala who presented his usual calm demeanour emphasised the importance of not dwelling on their past success, but rather focus on the current task at hand in Morocco.
"Let's leave the past behind us. Just like 2022, we have a title to defend, but we must not dwell on comparisons. We have learned good lessons from previous participations and we have prepared ourselves accordingly”, said Tshabalal.
Commercial Bank of Ethiopia - Edo Queens
The other Group B fixture will see two debutants taking each other on in their respective openers.
Commercial Bank of Ethiopia take on Nigeria’s Edo Queens in what promises to be a thrilling encounter between the two sides.
Speaking ahead of Sunday’s clash, Edu Queens coach Moses Aduku said the team remains grounded and focused on the being competitive against the best teams in Morocco.
"This is a dream opportunity for us to evaluate ourselves against high-level teams. We have already played against some of the best teams and managed to get results in the qualifiers. We are therefore confident in our ability to perform well here, and we are determined to remain competitive while giving the best of ourselves," said Aduku at the pre-match press conference.
CBE coach, Heye Gizaw Birhanu said the team’s three attempts of qualifying for the tournament have finally paid off, but they remain focused as there was still a lot of work to be done.
"After three attempts, we are finally here and yes, it is a good thing. However, this should not be taken for granted; now that we are there, we must give the best of ourselves and continue to surpass ourselves. There is still a lot of work to be done. Qualifying was the first step, now we need to continue to compete”.
