On the opening day of the Women’s Champions League, Kawempe Muslim Ladies, the first Ugandan team to qualify for the finals, beat two-time champions AS FAR Rabat (3-2) thanks to a brace from Agnes Nabukenya, including the winning goal in stoppage time.
At the Suez Canal Stadium in Ismailia, Kawempe Muslim Ladies, the first Ugandan team to qualify for the CAF Women’s Champions League finals, saw off AS FAR Rabat 3-2, according to Daily Express Uganda and HIBAPRESS.
Trailing from the 6th minute, the Ugandans turned the match around before seeing the Moroccans pull level, then forced the decision in the final moments. This result blows Group B wide open.
Tagnaout strikes, Nabukenya responds
The Moroccans struck first. In the 6th minute, forward Fatima Tagnaout opened the scoring with a powerful left-footed strike, according to Daily Express Uganda. AS FAR held that advantage until the 53rd minute.
In that minute, forward Agnes Nabukenya equalised with a long-range strike. Five minutes later, captain Shakirah Nyinagahirwa put the Ugandans ahead, and they took the lead.
El Madani pulls level, Nabukenya settles it
The drama was far from over, though. In the 69th minute, forward Doha El Madani equalised from the penalty spot, bringing the two teams level again.
But Nabukenya had other ideas. In stoppage time, the Ugandan forward scored the winning goal, set up by Latifa Nakasi, to complete her brace and seal victory for her side.
A wide-open Group B
The performance takes on another dimension given the opponent’s pedigree. AS FAR Rabat are two-time champions and the only team to have taken part in every edition of the competition since 2021, having reached at least the semi-finals in each of their five previous appearances, according to Daily Express Uganda.
The finals format, which brings together eight clubs in Egypt from 1 to 15 November, offers little respite, however. The top two from each group qualify for the semi-finals, with the final scheduled for 15 November, HIBAPRESS recalls. In Group B, USFAS Bamako and Ampem Darkoa complete the pool alongside Kawempe Muslim and AS FAR.
The future African champions will face Naegohyang (DPR Korea) in the second round of the FIFA Women’s Champions Cup in December, according to HIBAPRESS.