Mehluli Sibanda, Senior Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWE will not have any representation in the Women’s Champions League 2022 zonal qualifier as the country continues to feel the pinch of the suspension imposed on the Zimbabwe Football Association by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (Fifa).
The draw for Women’s Champions League zonal qualifiers took place on Wednesday, with the tournament to be held in in Durban from 7 to 13 August. Winners of the zonal qualifier will advance to the 2022 Total Energies Caf Women’s Champions League finals that are to be held in Morocco later in the year, where South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns will hope to defend their continental title as well.
Last year, Black Rhinos Queens went as far as the final where they lost 3-0 to Mamelodi Sundowns at the King Zwelithini Stadium. Sadly, they will be absent in 2022 as they cannot compete again due to the suspension of Zifa’s membership by Fifa.
The competition will also be the forerunner to the ever-popular Cosafa Women’s Championship that will be held in Gqeberha from August 31-September 11, another huge shot in the arm for women’s football in the region.
If no solution is not found to the country’s suspension by Fifa in the coming weeks, the Mighty Warriors will not be part of the Cosafa Women’s Championship.
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