Edo Queens set for WAFU-B tourney

Players of Edo Queens were in high spirits as they departed Benin for the WAFU-B qualifying tournament in Burkina Faso.

The reigning Nigeria Women’s Football League (NWFL) champions will be aiming to repeat their 2024 WAFU-B success and go one step further by securing the sole ticket to the CAF Women’s Champions League proper when the sub-regional tournament kicks off on August 23.

Addressing the team at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium before their departure, Executive Chairman, Edo State Sports Commission, Hon. Amadin Desmond Enabulele, charged the players to approach the tournament with determination.

He also urged the players to remain disciplined and focused as they seek to conquer the sub-region again, insisting that the team carries the hopes of both Edo State and Nigeria.

Enabulele said the Edo State government had full confidence in the team’s ability, adding that the players must improve on their fourth-place finish at the last CAF Women’s Champions League and secure a place in the continental final stage.

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Edo Queens made history in 2024 by winning the WAFU-B championship after claiming their first NWFL title, before producing an impressive continental campaign in Côte d’Ivoire and Morocco.

The team will be without head coach Moses Aduku, who is currently on national duty with the Falconets preparing for the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in Poland.

Bendel Insurance head coach, Kennedy Boboye, has therefore joined the delegation to provide technical support for the Nigerian team.

Edo Queens will face USFA FC of Burkina Faso, Ampem Darkoa Ladies of Ghana, AS Mimosas of Côte d’Ivoire, AS Garde Nationale of Niger, Dynamique FC of Benin Republic and ASOK Da-Kara Feminines FC of Togo, with the winner of the play-offs earning the ticket to the CAF Women’s Champions League proper in South Africa later this year.