Sundowns ladies set out to retain CAF title

Mamelodi Sundowns ladies coach Jerry Tshabalala wants his charges to prove their last season's CAF Women's Champions League success wasn't just a stroke of luck.

The second edition of the Women's Champions League will be staged in Morocco from Sunday to November 13. The Brazillians are pitted against Congolese side TP Mazembe, Wadi Degla from Egypt and Bayelsa Queens of Nigeria in Group A. The Brazillians' bid to retain their title starts when they face Bayelsa at Stade de Marrakech on Monday (5pm SA time).

"There's a lot at stake for us as the defending champions. We need to prove that it wasn't a fluke to become the first team to win the Champions League. The girls are motivated to go all out and defend the title,'' Tshabalala said during a virtual media conference yesterday.

Tshabalala also revealed it was a bit challenging to study their opponents due to the scarcity of their video clips. Even so, the Sundowns mentor sounded ready. Sundowns head into the Champions League having already wrapped up the Hollywoodbets Super League with four games to spare. 

"We gave ourselves enough time to study our opponents. As much as it is difficult to find clips but we have managed to get some, especially of the team from Nigeria (Bayelsa Queens) and TP Mazembe as well. It's a bit of a challenge to get clips of Wadi Degla but we know what to expect,'' Tshabalala disclosed.

"It's a big relief for us as a team that we are going to Morocco having already wrapped up the league. We wanted to wrap up the league as early as possible so that the focus would solely be on the Champions League. We also thank Safa for allowing us to bring some of our games forward."

Banyana Banyana stars Andile Dlamini and Bambanani Mbane are some of high-profile players Sundowns boast. Tshabalala's charges take on Degla in their second Group A match on November 6, before ending their pool stages' journey against Mazembe.

All three of Sundowns' pool stages games are at the same venue.