Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies are gearing up for an epic title defence as they touchdown in Casablanca, Morocco ahead of the 2024 edition of the CAF Women’s Champions League.
Sundowns are chasing a third title after winning in 2021 and 2023, in 2022 they were beaten in the final. Coach Jerry Tshabalala says preparations have been great.
“Some of our players went to a different national team. We’ve managed to work with the players that were left behind to prepare for a big tournament. It gave us a clear indication when we’ve played a game against TUT, where we’ve managed to wrap up the HollywoodBets Super League season. We’re looking forward to this one.”
Mamelodi Sundowns Hed Coach, Jerry Tshabalala
To come back with the title, Banyana Ba Style must first overcome a tricky Group B consisting of three highly determined debutants in Tutankhamun of Egypt, Ethiopia’s CBE FC as well as the Edu Queens of Nigeria. However, the coach sees the opposition as an assignment they can pass. He also gives insight into the teams they’ll face.
“We’re one lucky team. Mostly in the previous editions, we always get a team from Wafu B. It’s either from Ghana or Nigeria. Again, this time around, we’re picked up with a team from Nigeria, they’re very physical side. We’ve seen them and we’ve seen how they get in their qualifiers. They haven’t lost a game. They’ve been rattling the net more than anyone else.
“Central Bank of Ethiopia, from Central Africa, we know that they’ve been participating in the qualifiers for the past three editions. They didn’t make it, but this time around they’ve made it. More or less, a team that plays like us in terms of keeping possession.”
The team from Chloorkop travelled hot on the heels of winning a fifth consecutive Hollywoodbets Super League title.
Tshabalala adds it feels great to head to Morocco as champions of club football in South Africa:
“It really shows the hard work that’s been put by the technical team and the players. Also, how can one forget the support that we get from the management to push us to go all the way. It also shows that everyone at Mamelodi Sundowns is reaping the rewards in terms of us winning the league five times in a row.”
The CAF Women’s Champions League Morocco 2024 will be played between 9 and 23 November 2024, and winners will earn USD400,000 (a little over R7million) in prize money with runners-up walking away with USD250,000 (around R4.4million).
2024 gsport Awards Coach of the Year says the players are in high spirits.
“The good thing about it is the girls I always tell them to be humble. They must stay grounded. As much as we’re going to a bigger tournament, we don’t have to go there and get too excited because we know what happened previously in the year 2022.”
“Remember, that’s when we lost it in Morocco. We’re going to Morocco again this time around. We’ve got to keep our foot on the ground and try to be as professional as possible in terms of how we want to approach the games in Morocco.”
The coach is also wary of supporters in Morocco: “We know the atmosphere in Morocco. People in Morocco support women’s football. It’s going to be a bit of a challenge for us to defend this one.”
Sundowns CAF Women’s Champions League History
2021: Winner
2022: Finalist
2023: Winner
Draw for the CAF Women’s Champions League Finals 2024
Group A
AS FAR (Morocco)
Aigles De La Medina (Senegal)
TP Mazembe (DR Congo)
University of the Western Cape (South Africa)
Group B
Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa)
Tutankhamun (Egypt)
CBE (Ethiopia)
Edu Queens (Nigeria)
Photo Caption: Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies are gearing up for an epic title defence as they touchdown in Casablanca, Morocco ahead of the 2024 edition of the CAF Women’s Champions League. Banyana Ba Style are chasing a third title in the continental competition in Morocco from 9 to 23 November, 2024. Photo: Supplied
Photo Caption: Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies keepers are counting on putting their opponents to sleep with full-hand saves. Photo: Supplied
Photo Caption: The three-times finalists and two-times champs will have their work cut out for them up against Africa’s best for continential crown jewels. Photo: Supplied
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