CAF Women's Champions League: Mamelodi Sundowns v AS FAR, a war of words ahead of the final
CAF Women's Champions League: Mamelodi Sundowns face AS FAR in the final of the second edition.
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Mamelodi Sundowns can retain their title in the CAF Women's Champions League. The South African side have reached the final for the second year running, a superb achievement from the South African champions. And they are determined to beat AS FAR on their own turf. " We played in Egypt, where our boys won, and the first edition was also in Egypt, which we won. Fortunately, Banyana Banyana did it against more or less the same team, as 12 AS FAR players represented Morocco. So it's up to us to make sure we repeat what our national team did. I firmly believe we will succeed ", head coach Jerry Tshabalala said at a press conference.
The two teams will meet for the first time. But the South African side know plenty about today's opponents. "I know a lot about AS FAR, and when you look at the team, they came into this tournament without big stars but they have shown a lot of character and got all the way to the final ", Tshabalala went on.
The first ever #CAFWCL clash to be repeated 👀
Relive last season’s encounter between @ASFAR_Officiel and @SundownsLadies ahead of tonight’s final 📺 #EmpoweringOurGame pic.twitter.com/Av2Cpyyakb
— CAF Women’s Football (@CAFwomen) November 13, 2022
AS FAR, for their part, have no intention of slipping up at home. Les Militaires are determined to win their first title in the CAF Women's Champions League. Last year's semi-finalists are adamant they will not let the trophy slip away. "People are also talking about revenge for the last edition, when we went out in the semi-finals. So there is a lot of motivation. We don't want to be the team that lost two finals in a row", AS FAR head coach Mohamed Amine Alioua said.
Les Militaires are not afraid of Mamelodi Sundowns at all. "We are aware that we are going to face a team from South Africa, which remains a great football nation, and we will do everything to manage the match perfectly. We are going to play a great team, Mamelodi Sundowns, but we are also AS FAR. A top-level team in Morocco and in Africa. It will be a very good match. It will be a tactical battle and we are ready", the coach added. Kick-off is this Sunday at 20:00 GMT.