Ascent Soccer Academy Coach Thom Mkolongo has said there are positives drawn from the 2024 Caf Women’s Champions League/ Cosafa Qualifiers underway at Mpira Stadium in Chiwembe Township, Blantyre.
The team failed to utilise home ground advantage as it finished at the bottom of Group B with three points from three matches.
But Mkolongo said despite failing to reach the semi-finals of the competition, his predominantly youthful squad has learnt a lot.
“There are a lot of positives from the tournament. Other teams were more organised and were fit. On top of that, other teams were physically and psychologically prepared,” Mkolongo said.
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Mkolongo also said lack of experience cost his side in two matches at the competition.
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“It was the first time participating in the competition. So, it was a learning process for us. If we do well in our local league, we will participate in the competition again and, hopefully, we will do well,” he said.
Ascent started the tournament with a 2-1 victory over Young Buffaloes from eSwatini but lost two consecutive matches.
They lost 1-0 to UD Lichinga and United Ladies.
Meanwhile, the Local Organising Committee (Loc) for the tournament has said fans will pay to watch the matches from the semi-final stage, which starts today.
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The fans watched the group stage matches for free as one way of enticing more girls to join women’s football in the country.
However, Loc Chairperson Felister Dossi said after wide consultations and considering several factors, they arrived at the decision to introduce gate fees.
“We are trying to control people. We have had security concerns during the matches. We also noticed that there were too many unaccompanied minors,” Dossi said.
Gaborone Ladies of Botswana will face Herentals Queens FC of Zimbabwe in a noon kick-off match at Mpira Stadium today before paving the way for University of Western Cape and Buffaloes at the same venue.
The overall winner will qualify for Caf Champions League finals.
