CAF on Tuesday held a historic meeting via video-conference with a selected group of players and coaches to present the Women’s Football Strategy and the organizational aspects of the Women’s Champions League.
The meeting chaired by the Deputy Secretary-General, Anthony Baffoe, was to share the strategic plan for the development of women’s football with some of the key actors of the game, and exchange ideas towards growing the women’s game across the continent.
Among the highlights of the interactive session were presentations by Director of Competitions, Samson Adamu, and Head of Women’s Football Development, Safia Abdel Dayem on the road map for the inaugural Women’s Champions League, and Women’s Football Strategy.
The meeting brought together some of the biggest names in African women’s football including coaches Clementine Toure (Cote d’Ivoire), Desiree Ellis (South Africa), and Lamia Boumehdi (Morocco U-17).
Among the notable players who were in attendance was four-time and reigning CAF Women’s Player of the Year, Asisat Oshoala of Nigeria, South Africa’s Thembi Kgatlana, crowned CAF Women’s Player of the Year in 2018, and Gaelle Enganamouit, CAF Women’s Player of the Year 2015.
The rest are Onome Ebi (Nigeria), Ajara Njoya (Cameroon), Janine Van Wyk (South Africa), Sarah Essam (Egypt), Elizabeth Addo (Ghana), and Jean Sseninde (Uganda).
Baffoe reassured the participants of CAF’s commitment towards the women’s game and the importance of synergistic work to develop it.
“We organized this meeting to listen to the players and coaches,” Baffoe said.
“Now, the recently appointed Executive Directors of each of the Zonal Unions, have been tasked with ensuring that the Women’s Football Strategy launched in July is in line with the objectives of the region, and for Member Associations to follow accordingly”.
Quotes
Asisat Oshoala
“I am very happy to be part of this initiative and I hope that everything will fall into place. I’m pretty sure at the end of the day we’ll all be happy. After a year, we can say that we have moved forward and in two years we can take it to a higher level.”
Onome Ebi
“The Women’s Champions League is something we have been talking about for long. I’m glad it is gradually becoming a reality.”
Ajara Njoya
“Women’s football in Africa has just been reborn thanks to these efforts by CAF. It is our duty to support this great initiative and I think that strategy will really aid the development of the game on our continent.”
Gaelle Enganamouit
“The Women’s Football Strategy is going to be a huge step for the future of women’s football. We all have to embrace and support it.”
Janine Van Wyk
“I feel honoured and privileged to be part of this meeting. Individually, it is difficult to do much, but together we can do a lot. We have so much talent in our countries and we have to expose them to the world.”
Sarah Essam
“It’s great to know that the future of African women’s football is in good hands and everyone is involved. I am very optimistic about this strategy.”
