The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has picked Morocco to host the 2024 edition of the CAF Women’s Champions League Finals.

The CAF Women’s Champions League Morocco 2024 will be played between November  9 and 23.

Morocco hosted the 2022 edition of the CAF Women’s Champions League – the premium women’s club football competition in Africa.

Eight clubs including Edo Queens  will contest the top prize. Winners will get USD 400 000 in prize money with runners-up walking away with USD 250 000.

Mamelodi Sundowns are the current holders – having won the competition twice in three years.

Morocco’s ASFAR is the other team that has won the Competition – back in 2022 when they defeated Mamelodi Sundowns.

Since its inception, the CAF Women’s Champions League played a key role in shaping women’s football in Africa.

Morocco’s hosting of the CAF Women’s Champions League follows the nation’s successful hosting of the CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations 2022 which also enjoyed unparalleled success.

Six Zonal tournaments took place to qualify  six  teams in addition to the host and the holder of 2023 title to the FT of CAF WCL 2024.

Apart from holders Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa) and host team ASFAR (Morocco), Aigles de la Medina (Senegal) will represent  WAFU A   while Edo Queens (Nigeria) will represent WAFU B  .

Others are

University of Western Cape (South Africa) for COSAFA , Tutankhamun (Egypt) for UNAF , CBE FC (Ethiopia) for CECAFA and TP Mazembe (DR Congo) for UNIFFAC.

Kano Pillars bagged their first away win of the season at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium in Enugu against Rangers International and have thrown a spanner in the Nigeria Premier Football League reigning champions title challenge.

It was a Matchday 7 tie that came barely three days after Kano Pillars were pinned 2-0 in Uyo by Akwa United. But they were at their best against the Flying Antelopes and raced to a 4-0 first half lead to the bewilderment of Rangers’ head coach, Fidelis Ilechukwu.

Rabiu Ali scored the game’s first goal for the visitors in the 19th  minute from the spot kick while Rabiu Muhammed Zulkifilu made it two 10 minutes later. Ali got his brace in the 41st v minute from the penalty spot again before Ahmed Musa’s icing on the cake in the 45th  minute.

But Isaac Saviour scored a quick-fire double in the 46th  and 59th  minutes for the home side to raise the hope of a comeback but they could only add one more in the 90th minute. The game finished 4-3 with Sai Masu Gida having the last laugh on the Flying Antelopes’ stomping ground.

Rangers slipped to the fifth spot with 10 points but Kano Pillars moved to the fourth spot with 10 points. The arrival of Super Eagles Skipper Ahmed Musa and Shehu Abdullahi is helping to provide the necessary stability at Kano Pillars.

In the remaining games played yesterday, Lobi Stars were held to a 2-2 draw by unbeaten El Kanemi Warriors at the Lafia City Stadium.

Lobi Stars went 2-0 up through the goals of Ossy Martins in the 17th  and 53rd  minutes. It was Martins’ third goal in his last two games for the Pride of Benue.

El Kanemi Warriors began their comeback in the 57th  minute through Ibrahim Mustapha’s goal before Mukhtar Mohammed’s equaliser four minutes from full time. It was the Borno Army’s fifth draw of the season after six games. They are still with a game at hand against Kwara United in Maiduguri.

In another game played in Lafia, Nasarawa United’s Anas Yusuf notched his second hat trick of the season in their 3-0 whiplash of Abia Warriors. Yusuf has seven goals from the seven games played thus far.

In Aba, Enyimba had to comeback from behind to avoid a first home defeat of the season against Niger Tornadoes. The People’s Elephant had held Shooting Stars to a goalless draw in Ibadan last weekend but they went behind to God’s time Joseph’s 42nd minute stunner.

Enyimba’s Chinedu Ufere got the leveller in the 76th  minute to ensure it was a draw.

At the Kwara Sports Complex, Ilorin Wasiu Alalade was the star man for Kwara United who whipped Sunshine Stars 3-0.

Alalade scored twice in the 30th  and 38th  minutes while Shola Abdulraheem hit the target for the third goal of the game in the 73rd  minute.

The remaining Matchday Seven games slated for today are: Bendel Insurance versus Bayelsa United; Rivers United versus Shooting Stars; Heartland versus Ikorodu City; Plateau United  versus Remo Stars and Katsina United versus Akwa United.

NPFL Matchday 7 Results

Lobi Stars 2-2 El Kanemi

Nasarawa United 3-0 Abia Warriors

Enyimba 1-1 Niger Tornadoes

Kwara United 3-0 Sunshine Stars

Rangers FC 3-4 Kano Pillars

European football chiefs and the global players’ union, FIFPRO, united on Monday to criticise FIFA over the global football calendar as they filed an antitrust complaint against the global football governing body.

FIFPRO and the European Leagues, which represents 37 domestic leagues, jointly filed the complaint at the European Commission in Brussels in which they argue global football’s governing body FIFA is abusing its right as both tournament organiser and regulator.

LaLiga president Javier Tebas said Monday has been “one of the most important days in football” and compared the case to that against the failed European Super League, while Premier League boss Richard Masters said in a statement that football has reached a “tipping point.”

LaLiga is not a member of the European Leagues but it is a part of Monday’s complaint.

FIFA declined to comment at this stage when approached by ESPN.

FIFPRO, the worldwide representative organisation for professional footballers, said it has tried to negotiate the issue with FIFA but said the governing body has “consistently refused” to consult them. It has also described FIFA’s intention to host its expanded Club World Cup competition in the United States this summer as a step too far.

However, a source told ESPN this summer’s competition is unlikely to be impacted given the short amount of time before it takes place.

“Today is one of the most important days in football,” Tebas said.

“For me, there’s been two historical days in football. One in 2019 when we stopped a reform of the Super League and today we’ve given a very important step in what we believe is the path of changing the governance of football institutions and we’re not going to let this opportunity get away.”

Player workload been a hot topic in football over recent seasons, with players and coaches repeatedly urging organisers to condense the schedule and allow players more rest. Last month, Manchester City midfielder Rodri said players are “close” to going on strike over the issue.

“It is getting to a tipping point,” Masters said in a statement.

“The feedback we have from players is that there is too much football being played and there is constant expansion. The Premier League hasn’t changed shape. What has changed over the last few decades is the march of international and regional football competitions.”

Serie A chief executive Luigi De Siervo said: “Serie A, like almost all other European Leagues, in the last 20 years hasn’t increased the number of games.

“On the contrary FIFA and UEFA, cycle after cycle, have increased constantly the size of their competitions for both clubs and national teams and we have now reached a saturation point in the calendar.”

FIFA argues that its most recent calendar, set through to 2030, was approved by its council which “included FIFPRO and league bodies.”

It said in July, when the antitrust complaint was first announced: “FIFA’s calendar is the only instrument ensuring that international football can continue to survive, co-exist, and prosper alongside domestic and continental club football.”

A source told ESPN that FIFA believes the Club World Cup will have a minimal impact on the football calendar or on player welfare, given it will be held once every four years, featuring a maximum of seven games.

A recent analysis published by Opta shows that, while City played the most games last season (59), the majority of teams in Europe played fewer than 50 matches, with five Premier League sides playing 42 games last season — just four more than the league season.

Another recent paper by CIES Football Observatory found there is only a minor difference in the number of games players play per season compared to previous decades.

However, FIFPRO said their research shows 72% of players are in support of reducing the calendar and ensuring a mandate rest period, as well as data that says 17% of players made over 55 appearances last season and 30% had a sequence of six “back-to-back” matches.

FIFPRO and the European Leagues argue that FIFA is abusing its status as a governing body and tournament organiser, saying the body favours its own competitions rather than looking out for player welfare.

“Enough is enough, we can’t take it anymore,” Mathieu Moreuil, Premier League director of international football relations and EU affairs, said.

“We have now an international match calendar which is beyond saturation… We’ve tried to engage with FIFA on that for years now without any positive response. So enough is enough.”

The antitrust complaint is not the only case against FIFA regarding the international match calendar. Domestic players unions in England, France and Italy took legal action against the governing body at the Brussels Court of Commerce in June and they are attempting to have the case tried at the European Court of Justice.

That case centres on employment law and players’ rights to holiday. One of their aims is to have a mandated rest period — between three to four weeks per year — for players to recuperate.

European governing body UEFA has also increased its schedule, notably with the new Champions League and Europa League formats, but has not been targeted in the complaint to regulators.

Moreuil said that was because FIFA was responsible for the international calendar and relations were different with UEFA thanks to dialogue.