Vihiga Queens face Djibouti team in CAF Champions League qualifiers

Former Kenya Women Premier League (KWPL) champions Vihiga Queens have been pooled in Group ‘C’ of the upcoming Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) Women’s Champions League qualifiers.

The three-time KWPL champions will clash with Djibouti’s FAD and Rwanda’s Scandinavian in the Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations (Cecafa) Zonal qualifiers from July 17 to August 1.

The matches will take place at Kenya's Nyayo National Stadium and at the Moi international Sports Centre, Kasarani.

But the inaugural Caf Women’s Champions League will be held in Egypt between November and December, with eight teams taking part.

Caf has said it introduced the championship to help develop women's football in the continent.

While the West Africa Football Union (Wafu) Zone B will produce two teams, the rest of the regions – Cecafa and Union of North Africa Football Federations (Unaf) will only have one representative each.

Egypt will present a team by virtue of being the tournament’s hosts while the other participant will be drawn from Nigeria, who are the 2018 Women Africa Cup of Nations champions.

Vihiga Queens, which is under the tutelage of coach Alex Alumira, clinched a ticket to the Cecafa Zonal qualifiers courtesy of their status as the 2019 KWPL champions, despite Thika Queens winning the just concluded 2020/21 edition.

Already, the Vihiga County-based side has stepped up  preparations for the qualifiers. The team arrived in Nairobi on Tuesday for residential training camp.

On Thursday,  Harambee Starlets coach Charles Okere and FKF Head of Projects and National Teams, Michael Kamure, visited the team’s training camp to offer them moral support.

FKF donated 10 balls to the team and directed Okere and physio-trainer Geoffrey Okoth to aid the team in preparing for the championships.

Group A of the Cecafa Zonal qualifiers has Lady Doves (Uganda), PVP Buyenzi (Burundi) and Simba Queens (Tanzania), while Group B has Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, Yei Join Stars (South Sudan) and New Generations FC (Zanzibar).

Pools

Group A: Lady Doves (Uganda), PVP Buyenzi (Burundi), Simba Queens (Tanzania)

Group B: Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, Yei Join Stars (South Sudan), New Generations FC (Zanzibar)

Group C: Scandinavian (Rwanda), FAD Club (Djibouti), Vihiga Queens (Kenya)