CAF Women's Champions League
Organising bodyCAF
Founded12 September 2020 (2020-09-12)
RegionAfrica
Number of teams
  • Final tournament: 8
  • Total: 33
Current champions
Most successful club(s)
Television broadcasters
WebsiteOfficial website
2023 CAF WCL
Winners
SeasonCAF Women's Champions League
2021South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns
2022Morocco AS FAR
2023 South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns

The CAF Women's Champions League (French: Ligue des Champions Féminine de la CAF; Arabic: دوري أبطال إفريقيا للسيدات), sometimes abbreviated as CAF WCL, is an annual African women's association football club competition launched on 12 September 2020[2] and organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).[3][4] It is the female counterpart of the CAF Champions League.

History

CAF cancelled the 2020 Women's Africa Cup of Nations at a virtual executive meeting on 30 June citing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on association football in Africa as the reason and rather approved the creation of the CAF Women's Champions League[5] which launched on 12 September that year.[6] South Africa's Mamelodi Sundowns won the inaugural title 2-0[2] against Hasaacas Ladies of Ghana in Cairo.[7][8][9]

On 18 April 2022, CAF issued a press release to its member associations wishing to engage their domestic league champions in the qualification procedures for the 2022 edition to submit viable club licensing documents to them by 31 May.[10][11] That edition was won by AS FAR of Morocco after beating then-defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns 4-0 in the final.[12]

On 19 May 2023, CAF named Ivory Coast as host for the 3rd edition of the tournament, posing it as part of the country's preparations and readiness to stage the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in January and February 2024.[13]

Sponsorship

This tournament uses the same sponsors as other major CAF competitions, including the CAF Champions League.

Format

The format for the first edition saw the champions of each of the six CAF zones play for a spot in the competition.[14][15] They are joined by the hosts and an extra team from the zone of the defending/reigning/current Women's Africa Cup of Nations champions (for the inaugural edition only).[16] The tournament is currently played in two groups of four teams. Since the 2022 edition, the spot reserved for the additional team from the CAF sub-region of the incumbent Women's AFCON is given instead to this tournament's defending champions.[11]

Prizes

In 2022, CAF introduced prize money for the eight participants in group stage for the first time in the competition.[17]

Final

position

 Prize money
Champions US$400,000
Runners-up US$250,000
Semi-finalists US$200,000
3rd in group stage US$150,000
4th in group stage US$100,000

Broadcast coverage

Below are the current broadcast rights holders of this competition:[18]

Country/Region Channels
 Morocco SNRT
 Ivory Coast RTI
 South Africa SABC
 Tanzania Azam
 Egypt On-Time Sport
 Togo New World TV
 Ghana TBC
 Uganda TBC
 Europe Canal+
Arab League MENA beIN Sports
Worldwide YouTube

Results

Key
Match was won during extra time
Match won after a penalty shoot-out
CAF Women's Champions League finals
Season Winners Score Runners-up Venue Attendance
2021 South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns 2–0 Ghana Hasaacas Ladies 30 June Stadium, Cairo 0[note 1]
2022 Morocco AS FAR 4–0 South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat 15,000
2023 South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns 3–0 Morocco SC Casablanca Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium, Korhogo 20,000
Upcoming finals
Season Finalist Match Finalist Venue Attendance
2024 –

Records and statistics

Winners by club

Club Winners Runners-up Years won Years runners-up
South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns21 2021, 2023 2022
Morocco AS FAR10 2022
Ghana Hasaacas Ladies01 2021
Morocco SC Casablanca01 2023

By nation

Nation Winners Runners-up 3rd Places 4th places Winner Runners-up 3rd Place 4th place
 South Africa 2 1 0 0
 Morocco 1 1 2 0
 Ghana 0 1 0 1
 Nigeria 0 0 1 0
 Equatorial Guinea 0 0 0 1
 Tanzania 0 0 0 1

Performances by region

Federation (Region) Clubs Winners Clubs Runners-up Titles
COSAFA (Southern Africa) Mamelodi Sundowns (2) Mamelodi Sundowns (1) 2
UNAF (North Africa) AS FAR (1) SC Casablanca (1) 1
WAFU (West Africa) Hasaacas Ladies (1) 0
UNIFFAC (Central Africa) 0
CECAFA (East Africa) 0

Awards

Most Valuable Player

YearPlayerClubRef.
2021Ghana Evelyn BaduGhana Hasaacas Ladies [19]
2022Morocco Fatima TagnaoutMorocco AS FAR [20]
2023Lesotho Boitumelo RabaleSouth Africa Mamelodi Sundowns [21]

Top scorer

The top scorer award is given for most goals in the main tournament phases each year/season.

YearTop scorerTeamGoalsRef.
2021Ghana Evelyn BaduGhana Hasaacas Ladies5 [22]
2022Morocco Ibtissam JraïdiMorocco AS FAR6 [23]
2023Botswana Refilwe TholakeleSouth Africa Mamelodi Sundowns5 [21]

See also

Notes & references

Notes

  1. ↑ The final was played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa.

References

  1. ↑ "TotalEnergies Women's Champions League: Global TV stations and online platforms to show inaugural tournament around the world". CAFOnline.com. 5 November 2021. Archived from the original on 5 November 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 Diamond, Drew (16 November 2023). "South African club Mamelodi Sundowns to release Netflix documentary". Her Football Hub. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  3. ↑ "African women's football primed for new chapter". FIFA.com. 3 November 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  4. ↑ Grainey, Tim (31 October 2021). "The Week in Women's Football: African Champions League; COSAFA; DR Congo controversy". Tribal Football. Archived from the original on 25 October 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  5. ↑ "Decisions of CAF Executive Meeting – 30 June 2020". CAFOnline.com. 30 June 2020. Archived from the original on 1 July 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2020. Due to challenging conditions, the 2020 edition of the Women's Africa Cup of Nations has been cancelled. Meanwhile, the CAF Women's Champions League will be launched in 2021. The format and other details will be communicated in due course.
  6. ↑ "CAF Women's Champions League takes one giant leap towards realization". CAFOnline.com. 5 July 2021. Archived from the original on 6 November 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  7. ↑ "Remember the name: Mamelodi Sundowns becomes the first ever WCL champions!". CAFOnline.com. 19 November 2021. Archived from the original on 1 December 2021. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
  8. ↑ "Women's African Champions League: Mamelodi Sundowns win inaugural title". BBC Sport. 19 November 2021. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  9. ↑ Mjikeliso, Sibusiso (19 November 2021). "Sundowns Ladies make history by winning first-ever CAF Women's Champions League title". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  10. ↑ "CAF Club Licensing process for TotalEnergies CAF Women's Champions League 2022 now open" (Press release). CAFOnline.com. 18 April 2022. Archived from the original on 19 April 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  11. 1 2 "CAF Women's Champions League 2022 - Participation Criteria, Club Licensing process and Stadium requirements" (PDF). CAFOnline.com. 18 April 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  12. ↑ "ASFAR dethrone Mamelodi Sundowns to win first CAF Women's Champions League title". CAFOnline.com. 13 November 2022. Archived from the original on 14 November 2022. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  13. ↑ "Côte d'Ivoire to host 2023 CAF Women's Champions League". CAFOnline.com. 19 May 2023. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  14. ↑ "TotalEnergies CAF Women's Champions League WAFU B draw kicks-off a new era". CAFOnline.com. 5 July 2021. Archived from the original on 6 November 2021. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  15. ↑ "CECAFA Zonal Women's Champions League Qualifiers set". CAFOnline.com. 20 August 2021. Archived from the original on 29 November 2021. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  16. ↑ Komugisha, Usher (12 September 2020). "CAF reveals women's champions league format". Pan-African Football. Archived from the original on 25 September 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  17. ↑ "CAF announces CAF Women's Champions League prize money for 2022 edition". CAFOnline.com. 19 October 2022. Archived from the original on 19 October 2022. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  18. ↑ "CAF TV and CAFONLINE to show ALL CAF Women's Champions League matches". CAF. 11 May 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  19. ↑ "CAF TSG releases the Best XI of TotalEnergies CAF Women's Champions League". CAFOnline.com. 21 November 2021. Archived from the original on 21 November 2021. Retrieved 13 November 2022. Andile Dlamini was chosen as the best of the tournament. The South African has not conceded a goal in three appearances for Sundowns, completing the heroics of her teammate Asa Rabalao who was chosen as the best goalkeeper in the group stage.
  20. ↑ "CAF Women's Champions League 2022: Influential Fatima Tagnaout gets Best Player award". CAFOnline.com. 14 November 2022. Archived from the original on 14 November 2022. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  21. 1 2 "Sundowns dominate CAF Women's Champions League Individual Awards". CAF. 19 November 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  22. ↑ "Caf Women's Champions League: Evelyn Badu wins top scorer award". GhanaSoccerNet. 19 November 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  23. ↑ "CAF Women's Champions League 2022: Lethal Ibtissam Jraidi wins golden boot". CAFOnline.com. 14 November 2022. Archived from the original on 14 November 2022. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
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