CAFWCLQ: Vihiga queens set to renew rivalry with CBE in Jinja

Kenya’s Vihiga Queens will this afternoon take on Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) in the CAF Women’s Champions League-CECAFA Region qualifiers semifinal at the Njeru Technical Grounds in Jinja, Uganda, with a CAFWCL that will take place in the Ivory Coast in November at stake for all the remaining four teams.

Queens finished second in group B with six points after two wins and a defeat. CBE topped Group A with ten points from three wins and a draw. The semifinal tie will start at 4PM.

This will be the third meeting between the two sides at the qualifiers. In 2021, they met twice: first in the group stage, where CBE mauled Vihiga Queens 4-2. They then met again in the final, where Queens beat CBE 2-1 to qualify for the inaugural CAF Women’s Champions League in Egypt.

CBE FC head coach Birhanu Gizaw Heye says they are aware of the threat posed by the Kenyan side and that they are preparing well for the Sunday showdown.

"We beat them once and lost once at the 2021 edition, and we shall now prepare well for them because we must be at our best," the coach is quoted by CECAFA Media.

Queens coach Charles Okere, on the other hand, is happy with his team’s run in the tournament so far. He says his side will be stronger in the semifinal despite the fact that he will be missing a key player in Phoebe Oketch, who saw red against JKT.

"I am happy with how we have approached this tournament so far. My girls have been so determined, and I believe they will do wonders in the semis. We were handed our first red card of the tournament in our previous match, something I believe derailed our morale after winning the match against JKT. We will, however, come back strong in the semis, and I urge my charges to stay focused," he said in an interview with Citizen.

In the other semifinal, JKT Queens of Tanzania will play Buja Queens. Buja Queens have hired the services of a number of Kenyan internationals in a bid to secure a continental football ticket for the first time ever.

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