WAFU-B: CAF annuls Edo Queens penalty shootout win, orders final to resume

Edo Queens’ 2026 CAF Women’s Champions League WAFU-B final victory has been annulled after CAF ruled that their penalty shootout win over Ghana’s Ampem Darkoa Ladies was conducted without the required extra time.

The Nigerian champions had appeared to settle the final on 5 September after beating Ampem Darkoa 4-1 on penalties following a 2-2 draw at the 4th of August Stadium in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

However, CAF’s Organising Committee for Women’s Football has ruled that the penalty shootout should not have taken place because the required 30 minutes of extra time had not been played.

The decision followed a protest by the Ghana Football Association on behalf of Ampem Darkoa. CAF found that moving directly from the 2-2 scoreline after 90 minutes to penalties breached Articles 13.1 and 72.4 of the CAF Women’s Champions League Regulations.

CAF has therefore ordered the final to resume from the start of extra time, with the score at 2-2.

The two teams will play two 15-minute periods of extra time. If they remain level, a fresh penalty shootout will determine the winner.

The ruling means the WAFU-B representative at the 2026 CAF Women’s Champions League final tournament remains undecided.

Why CAF annulled the shootout

According to CAF’s reasoned decision, Article 72.4 of the regulations requires a drawn final to proceed to two 15-minute periods of extra time after 90 minutes.

Only if the scores remain level after extra time can the winner be decided by penalties.

Article 13.1 provides that the technical criteria applicable to the final tournament also apply to the zonal qualifying competitions.

CAF consequently determined that the decision to proceed directly to penalties breached the regulations.

The committee said match officials had initially been informed before the match that extra time would be required if the final ended in a draw.

However, during the second half, the referee was instructed to proceed directly to a penalty shootout if the teams were level at full-time.

CAF acknowledged that the referee acted on that instruction in good faith.

The committee also found that neither Edo Queens nor Ampem Darkoa was responsible for the failure to play extra time. It attributed the error to an administrative instruction that was inconsistent with the competition regulations.

CAF rejects full replay

Ampem Darkoa had asked CAF to either order a complete replay or resume the match from the 2-2 scoreline after regulation time, followed by extra time and, if necessary, penalties.

The committee rejected a full replay, finding that the initial 90 minutes had been validly played and that there was no evidence that the procedural error affected the conduct of that period.

The 2-2 scoreline therefore stands, with the match to resume from extra time.

What happens next?

Edo Queens and Ampem Darkoa will play 30 minutes of extra time, beginning at 2-2.

If the scores remain level, a new penalty shootout will be held to determine the winner.

CAF has directed that, as far as practically and legally possible, the continuation should be played under the same sporting conditions that existed at the end of the original 90 minutes.

This includes the players on the pitch at the end of regulation time, eligible substitutes, disciplinary status, substitutions already made and the remaining substitution opportunities available to both teams.

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The same venue is to be used, subject to confirmation by WAFU-B, while the same match officials are expected to oversee the continuation.

WAFU-B will determine and communicate the date, kick-off time and venue in coordination with CAF and the Nigerian and Ghanaian football associations.

Qualification remains undecided

Edo Queens’ original penalty-shootout victory would have secured their place as WAFU-B representative at the 2026 CAF Women’s Champions League final tournament.

That result has now been removed from the record, meaning neither team has been declared champion.

The eventual winner of the continuation will represent WAFU Zone B at the continental final tournament.

CAF’s Organising Committee for Women’s Football declared Ampem Darkoa’s protest admissible and upheld it on its merits.

The decision was signed by Bestine Kazadi, President of the CAF Organising Committee for Women’s Football.

For now, the WAFU-B final remains unfinished, with Edo Queens and Ampem Darkoa required to return to the pitch to determine the winner.