Julius OkorieDebutant CAF Women Champions League campaigners, Edo Queens, are in for a good deal as the Continental soccer ruling body has announced increment of prize money for the championship now in its 4th edition.
Edo Queens who are Nigeria’s and WAFU Zone B champions, will be facing seven other teams in the competition namely Aigles de la Médina of Senegal, AS FAR of Morocco ,CBE of Ethiopia,UWC Ladies of South Africa,FC Masar of Egypt, Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa and TP Mazembe of DR Congo
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe new prize money unveiled by CAF will see the winner of the championship pocket $600,000 (About N1 billion)
The runners-up will go home with$400,000 prize money in recognition of their performance throughout the competition.
Third and fourth place finishers will also enjoy generous monetary rewards, with the third-place team taking home $350,000 and the fourth-place team receiving $300,000.
The increase according to CAF is not only to serve as incentives for teams to for excellence but also reflects the growing recognition of women’s football in Africa.
Just like their male counterparts in the CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup, every team competing in the championship will receive participation fee of at least $150,000, ensuring that even those who do not progress to the later stages of the tournament will benefit financially.
The competition is scheduled to take place from November 9 to November 23, with matches being held in the vibrant cities of El Jadida and Casablanca, Morocco.
The eight teams have been drawn in two groups of and B. Group A has Morocco AS FAR (H),Senegal Aigles de la Médina,Democratic Republic and South Africa UWC Ladies.
Edo Queens are competing in Group B where they will trade tackles with defending champions South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns, Egypt FC Masar and Ethiopia’s CBE.
Edo Queens will open campaign against CBE on Sunday, November 10 before tackling FC Masar and Mamelodi Sundowns on November 13 and 16 respectively.
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The winners of this edition will automatically qualify for the group stage of the following edition of the tournament.
Mamelodi Sundowns have won two of the three editions held so far,with AS FAR of Morocco winning one
In the 2021 edition Sundowns beat Hassacas of Ghana 2-0 to emerge champions. In the 2022 edition AS FAR of Morocco demolished Sundowns 4-0 in the final played at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat. Sundowns however bounced back in 2023 with a 3-0 defeat of another Moroccan side Sporting Club Casablanca 3-0 to reclaim the trophy.
Bayelsa Queens finished in the third place in the 2022 edition after beating Simba Queens of Tanzania by a lone goal. Edo Queens will be hoping to improve on the effort of Bayelsa Queens as they file out in the battle of Morocco.
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
