A new date has been announced for the commencement of the West Africa Zone B (WAFU-B) Qualifiers for the 2023 CAF Women’s Champions League in Benin City, Edo State.
The regional tournament was earlier slated to kick off on Friday, August 18, will now get underway on Sunday, August 20 due to a case of force majeure following Niger Republic side, AS Garde withdrawal which necessitated another group stage draw.
The representatives of six teams from Nigeria, Ghana, Togo, Burkina Faso, Benin Republic, and Cote d’Ivoire in this year’s qualifiers were present at the draw ceremony held on Friday in the Edo state capital.
During the draw event at the media centre of the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, three teams in two groups were paired against each other for the coveted sole ticket available to the zone.
The new arrangement has seen the participating teams grouped into two distinct groups, each consisting of three teams. Only the top two teams of each group will qualify for the semi-finals.
Nigeria’s champions, the Asaba-based Delta Queens are in Group A alongside Nigeria champions, Delta Queens will now kick off their campaign against USFA of Burkina Faso on Sunday.
Tosan Blankson’s side will play Athletico FC of Ivory Coast on August 25 in a bid to make it to the semi-final.
The winner of the zonal qualifiers will pick the automatic slot to represent the zone, joining hosts and Ivorian side Athletico FC at the 2023 CAF Women’s Champions League in Ivory Coast.
Previous Nigerian league champions Rivers Angels and Bayelsa Queens have qualified from the zone at the past two editions of the competition in 2021 and 2022 respectively.
Delta Queens are expected to pick the ticket after an unbeaten run in the league claimed the title for the Asaba-based side on home soil.