Edo Queens 3-0 Aiononvi: Nigeria champions qualify for 2024 CAF Champions League

By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde

Nigeria women’s league winners, Edo Queens became the second team from the country to win the WAFU-B Women’s Champions League after a 3-0 success over Ainonvi from Benin Republic on Friday.

The two sides were unbeaten going into the grande finale in Bouake but Moses Aduku’s side continued to dominate their opponents and got the breakthrough with virtually the last kick of the first half.

Captain, Suliat Abideen converted a left footed shot into the bottom left corner to open the scoring for the Benin City based side.

The goal increased their momentum in the second half as the top goal scorer of the tournament, Emem Essien increased her tally to five with her side’s second of the match on the hour mark.

More pressure mounted by the Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL) Premiership winners resulted in the third goal, albeit through an own goal from a Nigerian playing for Ainonvi, Elizabeth Ukandu, in the 76th minute.

Edo Queens successfully won all their five games scoring 14 goals thus qualifying for the 2024 CAF Women’s Champions League.

They became the second Nigerian team to win the WAFU-B Women’s Champions League and the third to qualify for the CAF Women’s Champions League.

In 2022, Bayelsa Queens became the first team from Nigeria to win the WAFU-B Women’s Champions League after Rivers Angels faltered to Hasaacas Ladies from Ghana in the final of the maiden edition in 2021.

The Jewels of Rivers qualified for the Champions League despite the setback in 2021 taking one of the two slots allocated to WAFU-B as the region of the African champions.

Edo Queens joined holders, Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies (South Africa), Aigles de la Medina (Senegal), and FCF Mazembe (Democratic Republic of Congo) in qualifying for the 2024 CAF Women’s Champions League.