CAF Women's Champions League

Not to be confused with Women's Africa Cup of Nations.

CAF Women's Champions League
Organising bodyCAF
Founded12 September 2020; 4 years ago (2020-09-12)
RegionAfrica
Number of teams
  • Final tournament: 8
  • Total: 33
Current champions
Most successful club(s)
Television broadcasters
WebsiteOfficial website
2024 CAF WCL
Winners
Season CAF Women's Champions League
2021 South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns
2022 Morocco AS FAR
2023 South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns
2024 Democratic Republic of the Congo TP Mazembe

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] South Africa's Mamelodi Sundowns reclaimed their title 3-0 against SC Casablanca from Morocco.[14]

On 15 October 2024, CAF announced Morocco as the hosts for the 4th edition of the tournament. TP Mazembe of the DR Congo won 1-0 against hosts AS FAR of Morocco.[15]

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.[16][17] 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).[18] 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 2024, CAF announced a 52% increase in the prize money.[19]

Final

position

Prize money
Champions US$600,000
Runners-up US$400,000
3rd place US$350,000
4th place US$300,000
3rd in group stage US$200,000
4th in group stage US$150,000


Broadcast coverage

Below are the current broadcast rights holders of this competition:[20]

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
2024 Democratic Republic of the Congo TP Mazembe 1–0 Morocco AS FAR Ben M'Hamed El Abdi Stadium, El Jadida 15,000
Upcoming finals
Season Finalist Match Finalist Venue Attendance
2025 –

Records and statistics

Winners by club

Club Winners Runners-up Years won Years runners-up
South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns 2 1 2021, 2023 2022
Morocco AS FAR 1 1 2022 2024
Democratic Republic of the Congo TP Mazembe 1 0 2024
Ghana Hasaacas Ladies 0 1 2021
Morocco SC Casablanca 0 1 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 2 2 0
 DR Congo 1 0 0 0
 Ghana 0 1 0 1
 Nigeria 0 0 1 1
 Egypt 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)
AS FAR (1) 		1
WAFU (West Africa) Hasaacas Ladies (1) 0
UNIFFAC (Central Africa) TP Mazembe (1) 1
CECAFA (East Africa) 0

All-time top scorers

As of 25 November 2024

Players with the most goals in the competition. Bold players still active.

Rank Top scorer Goals Clubs
1 South Africa Melinda Kgadiete 7 Mamelodi Sundowns
2 Morocco Ibtissam Jraïdi 6 AS FAR
Morocco Doha El Madani 6 AS FAR
4 Ghana Evelyn Badu 5 Hasaacas Ladies
South Africa Lelona Daweti 5 Mamelodi Sundowns
Morocco Sanaâ Mssoudy 5 AS FAR
Lesotho Boitumelo Rabale 5 Mamelodi Sundowns
Botswana Refilwe Tholakele 5 Mamelodi Sundowns
Morocco Fatima Tagnaout 5 AS FAR
10 Mali Oumou Kone 3 AS Mandé
Ghana N-yanyimaya Gnabekan 3 Ampem Darkoa Ladies
Ivory Coast Stéphanie Gbogou 3 Malabo Kings

Clean sheets all time list

As of 25 November 2024

Players with the most clean sheets in the competition. Bold players still active.

Rank Keeper Clean sheets Clubs
1 Morocco Khadija Er-Rmichi 11 AS FAR
2 South Africa Andile Dlamini 10 Mamelodi Sundowns
3 Egypt Habiba Emad 3 FC Masar
Democratic Republic of the Congo Fideline Ngoy 3 TP Mazembe
Nigeria Omini Oyono 3 Edo Queens

Awards

Most Valuable Player

The player of the tournament

Year Player Club Ref.
2021 Ghana Evelyn Badu Ghana Hasaacas Ladies [21]
2022 Morocco Fatima Tagnaout Morocco AS FAR [22]
2023 Lesotho Boitumelo Rabale South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns [23]
2024 Morocco Sanaâ Mssoudy Morocco AS FAR [24]

Top scorer

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

Year Top scorer Team Goals Ref.
2021 Ghana Evelyn Badu Ghana Hasaacas Ladies 5 [25]
2022 Morocco Ibtissam Jraïdi Morocco AS FAR 6 [26]
2023 Botswana Refilwe Tholakele South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns 5 [23]
2024 Morocco Doha El Madani Morocco AS FAR 6 [24]

Best goalkeeper

The keeper of the tournament.

Year Best Keeper Team Ref.
2021 South Africa Andile Dlamini South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns
2022 Morocco Khadija Er-Rmichi Morocco AS FAR [27]
2023 South Africa Andile Dlamini South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns [28]
2024 Egypt Habiba Emad Egypt FC Masar [24]

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. ^ a b 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. ^ a b "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. ^ Shelat, Neel. "CAF Women's Champions League: Mamelodi Sundowns Reclaim Their Crown With A Perfect Campaign". Forbes. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  15. ^ Shelat, Neel. "TP Mazembe Shock Hosts To Win The 2024 CAF Women's Champions League". Forbes. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  16. ^ "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.
  17. ^ "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.
  18. ^ 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.
  19. ^ "CAF increases CAF Women's Champions League prize money | soccer". SABC. 7 November 2024. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  20. ^ "CAF TV and CAFONLINE to show ALL CAF Women's Champions League matches". CAF. 11 May 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  21. ^ "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.
  22. ^ "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.
  23. ^ a b "Sundowns dominate CAF Women's Champions League Individual Awards". CAF. 19 November 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  24. ^ a b c "CAF Women's Champions League Morocco 2024: Mssoudy, El Madani, Emad rewarded". CAF. 23 November 2024. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  25. ^ "Caf Women's Champions League: Evelyn Badu wins top scorer award". GhanaSoccerNet. 19 November 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  26. ^ "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.
  27. ^ MASAITI, Amira EL (16 November 2022). "CAF announces Women's Champions League Morocco 2022 Best XI". HESPRESS English - Morocco News. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  28. ^ "CAF Women's Champions League, Cote d'Ivoire Best Xl confirmed". CAF Women’s Champions League, Cote d’Ivoire Best Xl confirmed. Retrieved 5 June 2024.