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Lady Doves set ambitious target ahead of inaugural women’s Caf Champions League
Joy Ride. Lady Doves celebrate winning the Fufa Women Super League this year. PHOTO/JOHN BATANUDDE
What you need to know:
- Experienced: Lady Doves have in their ranks Fazila Ikwaput, who played in the Uefa Champions League during her professional sojourn in Europe
Lady Doves have to wait a little longer to get on the long road to the inaugural season of the Caf Women’s Champions League, but when that time comes, they will not treat their participation in this bit of history as an occasion.
The Masindi-based side earned their place to the zonal qualifiers of the continental showpiece as winners of the 2021 Fufa Women Super League and, as history has showed us, there will certainly be no pressure on a Ugandan team going to the big times for the first time.
Uganda’s women football fans have always been kind to first timers. When Uganda hosted the 2016 Cecafa Women’s Championship, fans were just glad to have the national team revived that they cared little about the dominance of Kenya, Tanzania and Ethiopia in the tournament Uganda hosted in Njeru.
The U-17s dominance in 2018 that culminated in Cosafa (Mauritius) and Cecafa (Njeru) wins were welcome surprises from a team that fans loved to watch just for their expansive football.
Then came the U-17 World Cup qualifiers, in which no one was exactly demanding the team to beat Cameroon in the final qualification round like the national pride depended on it, although there was a bit of positive expectation. Unfortunately, coronavirus did not let fans see how far that would go.
So most likely, Doves’ performance, whatever it will end up to be, will be highly recognised for the initial achievement it is – a Ugandan club in the qualifiers of an inaugural continental women’s club football tournament.
Uganda hardly had any women’s club football by 2014!
Postponed qualifiers
But that is the exact reason Lady Doves’ chief executive Scovia Angeyango wants them to stamp their mark on the tournament, which was due to start with the Cecafa region qualifiers that were initially slated for July 17 to August 1 in Nairobi, Kenya, before Rwanda-side Scandinavian pulled out due to Covid-19 restrictions back home.
“No one goes to a tournament to waste time, our target will be to qualify and compete in Egypt,” Angeyango told SCORE, well aware that all participants at the regional level, where only one makes it to Egypt later in the year, come with no history or pedigree to protect.
The club administration has fought tooth and nail to equip the coaches with the talent they asked for.
As contract-extension talks with goalkeeper and captain Daisy Nakaziro stalled, the club moved decisively to sign Uganda Martyrs High School and U-17 national team custodian Daphine Nyayenga.
The same happened when Elizabeth Nakigozi moved on as the club tried to negotiate with her agent. Gloria Namugerwa was signed from UMHS.
She Mak’s former goalkeeper Zahara Nankya, midfielder Halima Kanyango and UMHS forward Spencer Nakacwa have also been added to strengthen the 21-man squad.
The Ikwaput phenomenon
In Fazila Ikwaput, they have a hungry lion that inspires all and has proved herself by scoring and assisted against Barcelona in the round of 32 of the qualifiers of the European Champions League.
Ikwaput was playing for Kazakhstan top tier side BIIK Kazygurt. She also scored the winning goal against Greek giants Elpides Karditsas, a brace and assist in their 5-0 rout of Lativia’s Rīgas Futbola Skola and another assist in a 2-0 win away to Landhaus Wien in Austria.
Away from the squad that set base in Kasenge in Kampala rather than Masindi, where Angeyango believes “it would be hard for us to mobilise everyone during lockdown”, Lady Doves passed the rigorous Caf licensing process “with flying colours,” according to Fufa spokesperson Ahmed Hussein.
Doves were asked to prove that they qualified through a tournament that had more than 10 participants, share information on their training facility, club administration and also fulfill other legal and financial requirements.
Fufa will provide tickets for their 25-man contingent. But the club’s financiers Julius Mugisha and Steven Tinkamanyire have had to source funds for the other requirements like the camping in Kasenge, Covid-19 and yellow fever tests, passports for players, accommodation, meals, among others.
For now, it looks like Lady Doves have had the kind of preparation they could muster under the circumstances. The nation will back them wherever they go.
Pool
Lady Doves are pooled in Group A of the regional qualifiers with Buyenzi of Burundi and Simba Queens of Tanzania. There are two other groups comprising three teams each.
The top teams from the group and the best-placed second finisher among all groups will advance to the semi-final.
The winner of the tournament will advance to the final tournament to be held in Egypt between November and December.
Although Scandinavian has pulled out of Group C due to Covid-19 guidelines in Rwanda, no change in format has been communicated yet.
Caf Women’s CL
Cecafa Region Qualifier
Group A:
Lady Doves Uganda
PVP Buyenzi Burundi
Simba Queens Tanzania
Group B:
Commercial Bank Ethiopia
Yei Join Stars S. Sudan
New Gen Queens Zanzibar
Group C:
Scandinavian Rwanda
FAD Club Djibouti
Vihiga Queens Kenya (host)
