Morocco’s King Mohammed VI Congratulates AS FAR for downing Sundowns

Again, it all went well for Morocco, the ‘Mecca’ of football pilgrimage in Africa. The balance of power in women’s football in the continent has suddenly swung in favour of Morocco who also made impressive performence some moths ago when they hosted the Africa Women’s Nations Cup.

In the champions league, most analysts had expected South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundown, an arm of the football club owned by CAF President, Patrice Motsepe, to continue their winning streak which began last year in the first edition in Egypt, alas a stop was made by the AS FAR ladies.

A winning streak that stretched to nine matches was terminated. Not only were the Mamelodi Sundowns downed, it was a big fall of four goals to nothing.

It is the heaviest defeat inflicted on the club in the continent. The big feat by ASFAR was promptly acknowleged by the Moroccan monarch, King Mohammed VI.  

The King held a phone call with the team‘s coach Mohamed Amine Alioua and Captain Rabbah Aziza, expressing his warm congratulations for the win.

Morocco’s AS FAR won CAF’s Women Champions League after defeating Mamelodi Sundowns 4-0 on Sunday

The final match took place at the Prince Moulay Abdellah sports complex in Rabat.

Fatima Tagnaout opened the scoring through a penalty in the first 15 minutes of the match, while Ibtisssam Jraidi scored a hat trick for her club.

Take-aways from the final match

• AS FAR 4 Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies 0
• AS FAR are the second team to win the CAF WCL after Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies who did so in 2021.
• AS FAR are the first host club to win the CAF WCL title.
• AS FAR are the first North African club to win the title.
• This is the first time at the CAF WCL Finals that Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies lost a game, seeing their 9 -game unbeaten run come to an end (W7 D2).
• This is the third game at the CAF WCL finals that Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies had failed to score a goal, the other occasions were when they drew 0-0 with AS FAR and Malabo Kings in 2021 at the group stages and the Semi-finals respectively.
• This game represents the first time that Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies had conceded more than one goal in a game at the finals.
• This was the second meeting between AS FAR and Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies at the CAF WCL Finals, the Moroccans kept their second clean-sheet and remain undefeated against them (D1), the teams played out a 0-0 draw at the 2021 group stages.
• This is the biggest win by a team in a CAF WCL Final, in 2021 Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies defeated Hasaacas Ladies 2-0.
• Fatima Tagnaout’s opening goal from the penalty spot was the first time that Mamelodi Sundowns had conceded the first goal in a game at the CAF WCL Finals, it was the first time that they had ever trailed in a game at the finals. This being their 10th game at the tournament.
• Ibtissam Jraïdi scorer of AS FAR’s second, third and fourth goals netted her fourth, fifth and sixth goals of the tournament, the most goals by a player from AS FAR at the finals. She is also the first player to score in four different games at the finals.
• Ibtissam Jraïdi is the first player to score six goals at a single edition of the CAF WCL Finals, overtaking Evelyn Badu who scored five in 2021.
• Both of the hattricks scored at CAF WCL Finals have been scored by players from AS FAR, Ibtissam Jraïdi joins Sanaâ Mssoudy as the only two players to have managed such a feat. Mssoudy netted three goals in a 3-0 win for AS FAR against Rivers Angels in their opening game in 2021.
• Fatima Tagnaout had three goal involvements in this game making two assists and scoring a goal.
• All three of the goals scored at the tournament by Tagnaout have come from the penalty spot.
• Overall Tagnaout has had six goal involvements in the tournament scoring three goals and making three assists.
• Tagnaout assisted half of the six goals that Jraïdi scored in the tournament, setting up three of her goals.
• This is the biggest win managed by any team in a knockout round game at the CAF WCL Finals, AS FAR are also the first team to score four goals in a knockout game at the CAF WCL Finals.
• At the 2022 CAF WCL Finals the first three knockout games produced three goals, this game surpassed that total producing four goals.
• In all of the knockout round games only the winning team has managed to score.
• AS FAR kept their fourth clean sheet of the tournament.
• AS FAR scored 10 goals at the 2022 CAF WCL Finals conceding one goal, while Sundowns scored 12 but let in five.
• Starting with their third-place play-off win against Malabo Kings in 2021, AS FAR have now won their last six games in a row at the CAF WCL finals. They are the first team to win six games in a row in open play at the tournament.
• Having not conceded a goal in at the 2021 edition Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies conceded five at the current tournament.
• AS FAR goalkeeper Khadija Errmichi kept four clean sheets in the tournament conceding just one goal. She was named goalkeeper of the tournament.
• This is AS FAR’s biggest win at the CAF WCL Finals it is the first time they managed to score four goals in a game.
• While just one game at the 2021 edition of the CAF WCL Finals saw a team win a game by four or more goals, the 2022 edition saw four games where a team managed to win by a margin of four or more goals.
• AS FAR’s Women’s team joins their men’s team who were crowned winners of the African Club of Champions Cup in 1985.
• This is now AS FAR’s third major continental title as a club their men’s team won the African Club of Champions Cup in 1985 and the CAF Confederation Cup in 2005.
• All three major CAF Club titles belong to Moroccan clubs with Wydad Casablanca holding the CAF Champions League title and RS Berkane the current CAF Confederation Cup defending champions.
• This was the fourth time that Mamelodi Sundowns had a club in a CAF Club competition final, along with their men’s team who reached the 2001 and 2016 CAF Champions League Finals. It was the second time that Sundowns had lost a continental final in either the men’s or women’s competition, their men’s team lost to Al Ahly of Egypt in the 2001 CAF Champions League Final.