Jalla queries CAF’s annulment of Edo Queens’ WAFU B victory

Prince Harrison Jalla, chairman of the Advocacy for Nigeria Football Reform Initiative, has questioned the Confederation of African Football’s (CAF) decision to annul Edo Queens’ win in the WAFU B final of the CAF Women’s Champions League, asking who authorised the penalty shootout that decided the match.

Edo Queens beat Ghana’s Ampem Darkoa Ladies FC 4-1 on penalties in the final in Burkina Faso. But CAF upheld a protest filed by the Ghana Football Association within 48 hours of the match, ruling that the direct resort to penalties after regular time breached Articles 13.1 and 72.4 of the competition’s regulations. The rules provide for two 15-minute halves of extra time before a shootout.

Jalla said the ruling exposes CAF as being in another administrative crisis, less than a year after the last Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, when, he noted, the body overturned Senegal’s victory over Morocco.

“Who authorised the match officials to proceed to penalty kicks? Are the match officials not conversant with the rules?” he asked.

He also queried what CAF’s 54 member federations are learning from the confederation on organising championships, accusing it of lurching from one blunder to another while holding national teams and clubs responsible for its failures.

Jalla urged CAF to let matches be won and lost on the field of play, to invoke disciplinary measures against the staff and committee members responsible, and to stop subjecting the continent to constant embarrassment. He said the body must wake up and reorganise itself.

The advocate added that Edo Queens have no reason to honour a replay, and called on the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to make this clear to CAF.

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