The Caf Women’s Champions League continental finals get underway in El Jadida, Morocco on Saturday, where the eight clubs will vie for the coveted title and the US$600 000 first prize.
Mamelodi Sundowns will hope for a third title in four years but old foes AS FAR are just one of the clubs standing in their way.
The teams are packed with talent as we pick out five players to watch over the next two weeks of action.
KHADIJA ER-RMICHI (AS FAR)
Morocco international goalkeeper Er-Rmichi has been a stand-out for club and country for several years and played a massive role in AS FAR lifting the trophy in 2022. Tall and with excellent reflexes, she has been the difference between victory and defeat on several occasions and was one of Morocco’s stand-out players at last year’s Fifa Women’s World Cup. In the tight games, a top keeper is like gold at this level and the 35-year-old delivers more often than not.
EMEM PEACE ESSIEN (EDO QUEENS)
Nigeria’s Edo Queens will debut at the continental finals and one of the major factors in them achieving their maiden appearance was the goals of striker Essien in a tough qualifying campaign. She scored in four of the five matches in the WAFU A preliminaries, with braces against AS GNN from Niger and Hasaacas from Ghana, a semifinal strike against FC Inter d'Abidjan and a goal in the 3-0 final victory over Ainonvi FC from Benin. She was little known going into this year's qualifiers but has the chance to make a big name for herself on the continental stage. She managed double the number of goals than anyone else in the qualifiers.
SANDRINE NIYONKURU (TUTANKHAMUN)
The highly-rated Burundi international fired unfancied Egyptian side Tutankhamun to the finals for the first time with her five goals in the qualification campaign. Those came in just three matches and included four strikes against CF Akbou from Algeria in what proved a decisive win. Niyonkuru emerged at the Tanzanian side Fountaingate Schools before moving to Egypt having caught the eye at the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations finals in Morocco. She scored a brace against Botswana in a 4-2 loss for her side but showed enough to suggest she could become a top player.
BOITUMELO RABELE (MAMELODI SUNDOWNS)
The Lesotho international has been a revelation for Mamelodi Sundowns since she joined them from Bloemfontein Celtic in 2021 and will once again be key to their attacking play in Morocco. Her goals helped Sundowns to the continental crown last year and she has four in the competition in all, two shy of all-time leading scorer Ibtissam Jraïdi, who previously turned out for AS FAR. But it is not just her goals that make the difference, as her creative abilities, experience and work rate make her a hugely valuable asset for The Brazilians and a key player for coach Jerry Tshabalala to build the team around.
SINAF WAKUMA (CBE)
Wakuma scored the winning goal in the Cecafa qualifier finals for Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE). She netted in the 3-2 pool stage win over Rayon Sport from Rwanda, grabbed a brace in the 4-0 success against Yei Joint Stars from South Sudan, and another two versus Kenya Police Bullets. CBE met the latter again in the final and Wakuma haunted them once more with the winner 11 minutes from fulltime. This competition will be a big step up for her, but a chance to show her qualities to a wider audience.
