By Harry Awurumibe, Editor, Abuja Bureau
The organizers of the forthcoming CAF Women’s Champions League West African qualifying competition, WAFU-B Secretariat in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, have officially informed Member Associations (MA) about the new date of the tournament.
According to a letter to Member Associations signed by Boureima Balima,Executive Director, WAFU-B, obtained by Prompt News, the competition will now hold from June 24 to August 5, 2021 instead of July 17 to 30 just as the six qualified clubs are expected to check into their hotels from July 22 and will be evicted from the official hotel as soon the club is eliminated from the tournament.
Also, the organizers have informed the clubs that only 56 persons will be accommodated in the team hotel just as Nigeria’s representative, Rivers Angels and Ivoiren champions, Onze Soeurs de Gagnoa (Eleven Sisters of Gagnoa) will lodge at Hotel Pergola Beitry, Zone 4.
Hasaacas Ladies of Ghana and USFA of Burkina Faso will be at Hotel Golden in Marcory while Amis Du Monde of Togo and Niger’s AS Police will be quartered at Hotel Milliet, Marcory.
According to the draw earlier released by WAFU-B the competition will be played in a league format with the six teams divided into two groups with the three teams playing against each other.
The two top sides will progress to the last four of the competition, with the winners of those knockout semi-final matches to slug it out in the final.
While the two winners of the semi-final face off in the final for the title, the finalists will automatically qualify as representatives of the zone for the finals at the inaugural CAF Women’s Champions League in Egypt later this year.
The WAFU-B will be the only zone to produce two teams at the finals, with the region being the home of the reigning champions of the Africa Women’s Cup of Nations (AWCON) Nigeria.
2021 WAFU-B Group A:
*Eleven Sisters of Gagnoa (Ivory Coast)
*Union Sportive des forces Armees (Burkina Faso)
*Friends of the World Football Club (Togo)
Group B
*Rivers Angels Football Club (Nigeria)
*Hasaacas Ladies Football Club (Ghana)
*Police Sports Association (Niger).
