Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies have touched down Morocco ahead of the much-anticipated CAF Women’s Champions League.
The tournament is set to kick-off on Sunday, 30 October and come to an end on Sunday, 13 November 2022.
Banyana Ba Style will play their first match against Nigeria’s Bayelsa Queens on Monday, 31 October in their quest to defend their title.
The Hollywoodbets Super League champions are drawn in Group B alongside Bayelsa Queens [Nigeria], Wadi Degla [Egypt], TP Mazembe [DR Congo].
Masandawana head coach Jerry Tshabalala stated that winning the Super League will give his troops so much confidence going into the Champions League competition.
‘KAPPA’ ON IMPORTANCE OF WINNING SUPER LEAGUE
“From a psychological standpoint, we are very excited that we won the league before switching our attention to the biggest stage,” Tshabalala told Sundowns’ media department.
“We are here in high spirits because we have achieved one of our objectives this season which was to retain our dominance in South African football.
“We enjoyed a similar occurrence last year when we won the league before travelling to Egypt.
“Kudos to SAFA and the Hollywoodbets Super League for working on the schedule to meet up with timelines.”
The red-hot Brazilians have been in an remarkable in the Super League having ammassed 73 points from 27 outings, scoring a whopping 113 goals and only conceded 11 goals this campaign.
Tshabalala has since commended his technical team for working extensively despite the busy schedule.
‘SUNDOWNS LADIES BLESSED WITH TALENT’
“We are blessed with a very sound technical team that has been proactive in scouting our opponents,” he added.
“Although it’s been difficult for us to obtain clips of our rivals, we have acquired some from Nigeria’s Bayelsa Queens and Congo’s TP Mazembe.
“It’s a bit of a challenge to get clips of Wadi Degla but we know what to expect considering that we played Morocco’s AS FAR last year.
‘Kappa’ admitted that their CAF title defence won’t be a walk in a park as their opponents might have studied them.
“We have enjoyed a dominant season, we have not been immune to defeats as teams have become more competitive and are closing the gap,” Tshabalala explained.
“Remember we lost to Zambia’s Green Buffaloes on penalties in the COSAFA Qualifier final as well as to the University of the Western Cape (UWC) and TUT FC in the Hollywoodbets Super League.
“Those losses have served as a wake-up call for us ahead of the CAF Women’s Champions League and there were positives we took out of those games.
“I must say the standard of women’s football is continuously rising.”
Meanwhile, the club’s chairman Tlhopie Motsepe added: “Go make us proud in Morocco.
“You are going to Morocco to defend your title as ‘Champions of Africa’, so you must be prepared to give your best to live up to that tag.”
