By Victor Kanayo
Participating teams are now in Benin City, the Edo State capital in Nigeria, ahead of CAF Women’s Champions League qualifier for the West Africa Football Union B (WAFU-B) zone.
However, the absence of AS Garde National of Niger Republic encumbered by political instability has forced organisers to re-arrange the fixtures.
The representatives of Six teams from Nigeria, Ghana, Togo, Burkina Faso, Benin Republic, and Cote d’Ivoire were on ground during the draws ceremony and are expected to participate in this year’s qualifiers.
At the new draw, three teams in two groups were paired against each other for the coveted sole ticket available to the zone.
The new arrangement has seen the participating teams grouped into two distinct groups, each consisting of three teams. Only the top two teams of each group will qualify for the semi-finals.
Nigeria’s champions, the Asaba-based Delta Queens, are in Group A alongside USFA of Burkina Faso and Sam Nelly FC of Benin Republic, while Group B has the trio of Ampem Darkoa of Ghana, Atletico of Cote D’Ivoire, and Friends of the World FC of Togo.
The West African soccer fiesta, scheduled to hold at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium for over two weeks, is billed to commence from August 20 to September 2, 2023.
