2023 CAF Women's Champions League

The 2023 CAF Women's Champions League was the 3rd edition of the annual African women's association football club tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football, it was hosted by Ivory Coast from 5 to 19 November 2023.^[1] The winners of this edition will automatically qualify for the group stage of the following edition of the tournament. The qualification draw was conducted on 5 July 2023 at the Mohammed VI Football Academy in Rabat, Morocco.^[2][3]

2023 CAF Women's Champions League

Tournament details
Host country	Côte d'Ivoire
Dates	Qualification: 5 August – 16 September Main tournament: 5 November – 19 November
Teams	Main tournament: 8 Total: 37 (from 37 associations)
Venue(s)	2 (in 2 host cities)
Final positions
Champions	Mamelodi Sundowns (2nd title)
Runners-up	SC Casablanca
Third place	AS FAR
Fourth place	Ampem Darkoa
Tournament statistics
Matches played	16
Goals scored	41 (2.56 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Refilwe Tholakele (5 goals)
Best player(s)	Boitumelo Rabale
Best goalkeeper	Andile Dlamini
← 2022 2024 →

AS FAR are the defending champions.

Qualified teams

Main article: 2023 CAF Women's Champions League qualification

AS FAR

SC Casablanca

AFC Abidjan

Huracanes

AS Mandé

JKT Queens

Ampem Darkoa

Mamelodi Sundowns

Location of teams of the 2023 CAF Women's Champions League group stage.
Group A
Group B

Qualification for this edition like the previous two editions of the tournament were made up of 6 sub-confederation qualifying tournaments which was contested between August and September 2023 with each confederation having a representative. As defending champions, AS FAR qualified automatically for the main phase of the tournament.^[4]

Association	Team	Qualifying method	Appearance
Ivory Coast	Athlético F.C. d'Abidjan (hosts)	2022–23 Ivory Coast Women's Championship champions	1st
Morocco	AS FAR (holders)	2022 CAF Women's Champions League winners	3rd
	SC Casablanca	2023 CAF Women's Champions League UNAF Qualifiers champions	1st
Mali	AS Mandé	2023 CAF Women's Champions League WAFU Zone A Qualifiers champions	2nd
Ghana	Ampem Darkoa	2023 CAF Women's Champions League WAFU Zone B Qualifiers champions	1st
Tanzania	JKT Queens	2023 CAF Women's Champions League CECAFA Qualifiers champions	1st
Equatorial Guinea	Huracanes	2023 CAF Women's Champions League UNIFFAC Qualifiers champions	1st
South Africa	Mamelodi Sundowns	2023 CAF Women's Champions League COSAFA Qualifiers Champions	3rd

Draw

The draw of this edition of the tournament was held in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire on 9 October 2023 at 16:00 CET (16:00 GMT).^[5] The 8 confirmed teams was drawn into two groups of four teams. As club competition hosts, Athlético Abidjan was allocated to position A1.^[6]

Venues

Korhogo San Pédro 2023 CAF Women's Champions League (Ivory Coast)	Korhogo	San-Pédro
	Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium	Laurent Pokou Stadium
	Capacity: 20,000	Capacity: 20,000

Match officials

Referees

• Ghada Mehat
• Suavis Iratunga
• Aline Guimbang A Etong
• Shahenda El Maghrabi
• Natacha Konan
• Eness Gumbo
• Antsino Twanyanyukwa
• Yemisi Akintoye
• Salima Mukansanga
• Aline Umutoni
• Akhona Makalima
• Vincentia Amedome
• Dorsaf Ganouati
• Shamirah Nabadda

Assistant referees

• Asma Feriel Ouahab
• Nafissatou Yekini
• Fidès Bangurambona
• Yara Atef
• Prisca Danielle Ta
• Mary Njoroge
• Bernadettar Kwimbira
• Fanta Koné
• Meriem Chedad
• Queency Victoire
• Houda Afine
• Nancy Kasitu

Video assistant referees

• Issa Sy
• Maria Rivet
• Fatiha Jermoumi
• Bouchra Karboubi
• Soukaina Hamdi
• Abongile Tom
• Diana Chikotesha

Group stage

The group stage kick-off times are in West Africa Time (WAT) (UTC+01:00).

Tiebreakers

Teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss).

If two teams were tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria were applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings (Regulations Article 71):^[7]

1. Points in head-to-head matches match between the two tied teams;
2. Goal difference in all group matches;
3. Goals scored in all group matches;
4. Drawing of lots.

If more than two teams were tied, the following criteria were applied instead:

1. Points in matches between the tied teams;
2. Goal difference in matches between the tied teams;
3. Goals scored in matches between the tied teams;
4. If after applying all criteria above, two teams were still tied, the above criteria were again applied to matches played between the two teams in question. If this did not resolve the tie, the next three criteria were applied;
5. Goal difference in all group matches;
6. Goals scored in all group matches;
7. Drawing of lots.

Group A

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Mamelodi Sundowns	3	3	0	0	6	0	+6	9	Advance to semi-finals
2	SC Casablanca	3	1	1	1	5	3	+2	4
3	JKT Queens	3	1	0	2	3	7	−4	3
4	Athlético Abidjan (H)	3	0	1	2	2	6	−4	1

Source: CAFOnline.com
(H) Hosts

5 November 2023 (2023-11-05)

17:00

Athlético F.C. d'Abidjan	1–1	SC Casablanca
Agbo 37'	Report	Koffi 81'

Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium, Korhogo

Referee: Salima Mukansanga (Rwanda)

5 November 2023 (2023-11-05)

20:00

JKT Queens	0–2	Mamelodi Sundowns
	Report	Ramalepe 41' Tholakele 75'

Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium, Korhogo

Referee: Shahenda El Maghrabi (Egypt)

---

8 November 2023 (2023-11-08)

17:00

Athlético F.C. d'Abidjan	1–2	JKT Queens
Niamien 33'	Report	Gerald 66' Salum 85'

Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium, Korhogo

Referee: Antsino Twanyanyukwa (Namibia)

8 November 2023 (2023-11-08)

20:00

Mamelodi Sundowns	1–0	SC Casablanca
Kgadiete 42'	Report

Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium, Korhogo

Referee: Vincentia Amedome (Togo)

---

11 November 2023 (2023-11-11)

20:00

Mamelodi Sundowns	3–0	Athlético F.C. d'Abidjan
Cissé 77' (o.g.) Tholekele 85', 88'	Report

Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium, Korhogo

Referee: Suavis Iratunga (Burundi)

11 November 2023 (2023-11-11)

20:00

SC Casablanca	4–1	JKT Queens
Hajri 30' (pen.) Mourtaji 39' Koffi 45+3' Kokora 58'	Report	Hezron  29' Athumani 56' Nyandago  84'

Laurent Pokou Stadium, San-Pédro

Referee: Salima Mukansanga (Rwanda)

Group B

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Ampem Darkoa	3	2	0	1	5	5	0	6[a]	Advance to semi-finals
2	AS FAR	3	2	0	1	4	2	+2	6[a]
3	AS Mandé	3	1	1	1	4	3	+1	4
4	Huracanes	3	0	1	2	2	5	−3	1

Source: CAFOnline.com
Notes:

1. Head-to-head points: Ampem Darkoa 3, AS FAR 0.

6 November 2023 (2023-11-06)

17:00

AS FAR	1–2	Ampem Darkoa
Badri 14'	Report	Yeboah 57' Benzina 61' (o.g.)

Laurent Pokou Stadium, San-Pédro

Referee: Suavis Iratunga (Burundi)

6 November 2023 (2023-11-06)

20:00

Huracanes	1–1	AS Mandé
Obono 66' (pen.)	Report	F. Diarra 72' Karentao  81'

Laurent Pokou Stadium, San-Pédro

Referee: Ghada Mehat (Algeria)

---

9 November 2023 (2023-11-09)

17:00

AS FAR	1–0	Huracanes
Banouk 33'	Report

Laurent Pokou Stadium, San Pédro

Referee: Shamirah Nabadda (Uganda)

9 November 2023 (2023-11-09)

20:00

AS Mandé	3–0	Ampem Darkoa
Kone 40', 71', 73'	Report

Laurent Pokou Stadium, San Pédro

Referee: Dorsaf Ganouati (Tunisia)

---

12 November 2023 (2023-11-12)

20:00

AS Mandé	0–2	AS FAR
	Report	Dembélé 5' (o.g.) Tagnaout 37' (pen.)

Laurent Pokou Stadium, San Pédro

Referee: Antsino Twanyanyukwa (Namibia)

12 November 2023 (2023-11-12)

20:00

Ampem Darkoa	3–1	Huracanes
Twum 9', 72' Gnabekan 88'	Report	Ebenye 90+3'

Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium, Korhogo

Referee: Shahenda El Maghrabi (Egypt)

Knockout phase

	Semifinals				Final
	November 15 – Korhogo
	Mamelodi Sundowns	1
					November 18 – Korhogo
	AS FAR	0
					Mamelodi Sundowns	3
	November 15 – San Pédro
					SC Casablanca	0
	Ampem Darkoa	2 (2)
	SC Casablanca (p)	2 (3)
					Third place
					November 19 – Korhogo
					AS FAR	2
					Ampem Darkoa	0

Semi-finals

15 November 2023 (2023-11-15)

17:00

Mamelodi Sundowns	1–0	AS FAR
Rabale 72'	Report

Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium, Korhogo

Referee: Shamirah Nabadda (Uganda)

---

15 November 2023 (2023-11-15)

20:00

Ampem Darkoa	2–2 (a.e.t.)	SC Casablanca
Yeboah 6' (pen.) Owusuaa 39'	Report	Yeboah 28' (o.g.) Diarra 56' (pen.)
Penalties
Yeboah Amoh Abesik Amoako Amponsah	2–3	Bouziani Diarra Miftah Mourtaji Hajri

Laurent Pokou Stadium, San-Pédro

Referee: Vincentia Amedome (Togo)

Third-place match

18 November 2023 (2023-11-18)

20:00

AS FAR	2–0	Ampem Darkoa
Nyame 33' Chebbak 45+2'	Report

Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium, Korhogo

Referee: Antsino Twanyanyukwa (Namibia)

Final

Main article: 2023 CAF Women's Champions League final

19 November 2023 (2023-11-19)

17:00

Mamelodi Sundowns	3–0	SC Casablanca
Tholakele 21' (pen.), 79' Rabale 24'	Report

Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium, Korhogo

Attendance: 20,000

Referee: Suavis Iratunga (Burundi)

Statistics

Top scorers

This is the list of the top ten scorers in the main phase of this tournament:

Rank	Player	Team	Goals
1	Refilwe Tholakele	Mamelodi Sundowns	5
2	Oumou Kone	AS Mandé	3
3	N-yanyimaya Gnabekan	Ampem Darkoa	2
	Comfort Yeboah	Ampem Darkoa
	Nadège Koffi	SC Casablanca
	Boitumelo Rabale	Mamelodi Sundowns
7	Christiane Ebenye	Huracanes	1
	Elena Obono	Huracanes
	N-yanyimaya Gnabekan	Ampem Darkoa
	Jennifer Owusuaa	Ampem Darkoa
	Tracy Twum	Ampem Darkoa
	Espérance Agbo	Athlético F.C. d'Abidjan
	Sandrine Niamien	Athlético F.C. d'Abidjan
	Fatoumata Diarra	AS Mandé
	Mafia Nyame	AS FAR
	Najat Badri	AS FAR
	Safa Banouk	AS FAR
	Ghizlane Chebbak	AS FAR
	Fatima Tagnaout	AS FAR
	Sylviane Kokora	SC Casablanca
	Agueissa Diarra	SC Casablanca
	Meryem Hajri	SC Casablanca
	Chaymaa Mourtaji	SC Casablanca
	Melinda Kgadiete	Mamelodi Sundowns
	Lebogang Ramalepe	Mamelodi Sundowns
	Stumai Athumani	JKT Queens
	Winifrida Gerald	JKT Queens
	Alia Salum	JKT Queens

Final standings

Per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by a penalty shoot-out are counted as draws.

Pos.	Team	Pld	W	D	L	Pts	GF	GA	GD
1	Mamelodi Sundowns	5	5	0	0	15	10	0	+10
2	SC Casablanca	5	1	2	2	5	7	8	−1
3	AS FAR	5	2	1	2	7	6	3	+3
4	Ampem Darkoa	5	2	1	2	7	7	9	−2
Eliminated in group stage
5	AS Mandé	3	1	1	1	4	4	3	+1
6	JKT Queens	3	1	0	2	3	3	7	−4
7	Huracanes	3	0	1	2	1	2	5	−3
8	Athlético Abidjan	3	0	1	2	1	2	6	−4

Awards

The CAF Women's Champions League technical study group selected the following as the best of the tournament.

Award	Player	Team
Best Player	Boitumelo Rabale	Mamelodi Sundowns
Top Goal scorer	Refilwe Tholakele
Best Goalkeeper	Andile Dlamini
Fairplay team	Mamelodi Sundowns

The CAF Technical Study Group has announced the tournament’s Best XI as follows:^[8]

Goalkeepers	Defenders	Midfielders	Forwards
Best XI
Dlamini	Ramalepe Hajri Yeboah Nhlapho	Chebbak Rabale Morifi	Tagnaout Tholakele Owusuaa

Coach: Jerry Tshabalala

See also

• 2023 AFC Women's Club Championship
• 2023 Copa Libertadores Femenina
• 2023 OFC Women's Champions League
• 2022–23 and 2023–24 UEFA Women's Champions League