Ghanaian champions, Ampem Darkoa Ladies will compete in the 2023 CAF Women’s Champions League tournament to be hosted in Ivory Coast.
Ampem Darkoa having emerged as the champions of the WAFU Zone B champions will join the reigning champions, ASFAR from Morocco and South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns.
The tournament is scheduled to take place between November 5 to 9 2023.
The CAF Women’s Champions League is the premium women’s club football competition and will be the third edition.
Huracanes FC from Equatorial Guinea completed the line-up of teams this weekend when they won the UNIFFAC qualifier defeating regional holders TP Mazembe to secure their ticket to Cote d’Ivoire. This will be their first appearance.
As tournament hosts, Athlético Abidjan will be hoping to make the host nation proud in their first attempt at continental glory, as the Ivorian nation continues to build on the exciting mood currently enjoyed across the nation in welcoming Africa to next year’s TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 2023.
Current holders AS FAR of Morocco will be hoping to defend their crown, while South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns, who clinched the COSAFA regional title without a single loss, will be hoping to reclaim their 2021 title.
Both AS FAR and Mamelodi Sundowns return for their third appearance of the tournament, having qualified for each edition since the tournament’s 2021 inception.
A clear indication of the growth of the women’s game on the continent is that, of the eight confirmed clubs, only AS FAR, Mamelodi Sundowns and Mali’s AS Mande have previously qualified for the finals.
The eight confirmed clubs are:
- AS FAR – Morocco (Defending champions)
- Athlético Abidjan – Côte d’Ivoire (Host)
- Sporting Club Casablanca – Morocco (UNAF)
- AS Mand̩ РMali (WAFU A)
- Ampem Darkoa – Ghana (WAFU B)
- JKT Queens – Tanzania (CECAFA)
- Mamelodi Sundowns – South Africa (COSAFA)
- Huracanes FC – Equatorial Guinea (UNIFFAC)
In line with CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe’s commitment to growing the women’s game in Africa, CAF has set the competition’s winner’s prize money to USD 400,000.
CAF Women’s Champions League Prize Money Breakdown:
- Winners – USD 400 000
- Runners-up – USD 250 000
- Semi-finalists – USD 200 000
- Third of Group – USD 150 000
- Fourth of Group – USD 100 000
Source: Samuel Ekow Amoasi Appiah with additional information from CAFOnline