Morocco’s AS FAR women’s football club will play South Africa’s University of the Western Cape (UWC) team in El Jadida’s Ben Ahmed El Abdi stadium today at 6 p.m. local time. The victor will advance to the semi-finals of the ongoing CAF Women’s Champions League that is currently being held in Morocco.
AS FAR is favored to win the match as the host nation’s team. So far, they have secured a decisive 3-1 victory against TP Mazembe in Group A of the tournament.
Despite being newcomers to the CAF Women’s Champions League, the UWC team should not be underestimated. Its members have demonstrated their determination to follow in the footsteps of another successful South African team, Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies.
AS FAR’s coach, Mohamed Amin Alioua, underscored that his team is laser-focused on securing the win, promising not to take the match lightly despite the home turf advantage.
“We will enter the match against UWC with the ambition to win,” the coach told CAF’s news team. “Everyone knows our situation: our options are limited, so we are counting on a group of players capable of winning. Then, we will think about the semi-final.”
Fellow Group A teams, Congo’s TP Mazembe and Senegal’s Aigles de la Medina, will also go head to head today at 6 p.m. local time. The match holds different significance for each team. TP Mazembe is fighting to advance to the semi-finals while Aigles de le Medina, already eliminated, is playing as a matter of pride.
Aigles De La Medina coach, Mbayang Thiam, said, “We are competitors who came here as regional champions. It is a status that we must defend, and we want to prove that we are capable of winning. We may be out, but nothing stops us from putting up a good performance in our last match.”
Mazembe, on the other hand, wants to “rewrite the history” of the club, defender Michelle Moumazim said. “We want to go further than our finish in 2022. We are well prepared for this match and fully understand how difficult it will be,” she added.