Sundowns Ladies out to confirm place among world’s elite in Champions final

As Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies aim to win their second women’s Caf Champions League this weekend, coach Jerry Tshabalala is proud of how his team has established itself as one of the top female clubs in Africa and even the world.

Banyana Ba Style could be crowned African champions for the second time in three years if they beat new Moroccan club Sporting Casablanca in the final at Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium in Korhogo, Ivory Coast on Sunday evening (7pm SA time).

Sundowns won the inaugural tournament in 2021 and finished as runners-up to another Moroccan side, AS FAR Rabat, in their attempt to defend the title last year. Downs beat FAR in this competition's semifinals on Wednesday night.

After dominating South African women’s football for years, Tshabalala said Downs' new ambition has been to take their dominance to the continent — and to be counted among the top clubs in the world.

“This means a lot for me and the team. It’s actually a goal that I had when I joined Mamelodi Sundowns,” Tshabalala said.

“I always wanted to achieve, and I always said I wanted to make Mamelodi Sundowns to being one of the best teams in Africa. And here we are today — we are counted among the best teams in Africa.

“We are also among the best teams in the world. So it really means a lot that in the past decade we have done well.”

The International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS), in their women’s club ranking released this month, ranked Sundowns Ladies 36th in the world and top in Africa.

After dispatching AS FAR — who defeated them 4-0 in the final in Morocco last year — in this year's last four, Sundowns are feeling confident ahead of the final.

“I think the mood of my players and confidence has been greatly improved by winning against a team that was called our ‘hoodoo team’ after we failed to beat AS FAR in our previous two meetings,” Tshabalala said.   

“I think beating Rabat, for the players, was a great confidence boost because they defeated the strongest team in the competition.

“We are playing against another tricky side in Casablanca, but we are looking forward to this challenge.”