Edo Queens vs Ampem Darkoa: NFF appeals CAF ruling to resume WAFU B Champions League qualifying final

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has formally appealed the Confederation of African Football’s (CAF) decision to overturn Edo Queens’ victory over Ampem Darkoa Ladies in the 2026 WAFU-B Women’s Champions League qualifying final.

The NFF filed its appeal on September 30, challenging CAF’s ruling that the decisive encounter must resume from 2-2 and be settled through two 15-minute periods of extra time before penalties, if necessary.

Edo Queens appeared to have secured the WAFU-B ticket after beating Ampem Darkoa 4-1 in the penalty shootout following a 2-2 draw in regulation time on September 5 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

However, CAF’s Organising Committee for Women’s Football ruled on September 26 that the shootout was conducted prematurely because the competition regulations require extra time to be played before penalties.

NFF: Edo Queens did nothing wrong

The Nigerian federation’s appeal is built around the argument that Edo Queens should not bear the sporting consequences of an error made by match officials.

The NFF maintains that the Nigerian club neither requested nor influenced the decision to proceed directly to penalties after the 90 minutes had ended level.

“Edo Queens neither elected nor requested that extra time be dispensed with. The fact that Edo Queens ultimately won the shoot-out cannot retrospectively convert its compliance with the referee’s instruction into responsibility for the regulatory breach,” the NFF stated.

The federation believes CAF’s decision fails to distinguish between a team benefiting from an official’s mistake and being responsible for causing that mistake.

“There is an important distinction between benefiting from an official’s error and causing or procuring the error,” the NFF added.

“It is therefore difficult to justify a remedy which effectively removes the sporting consequence of the penalty shoot-out from Edo Queens where the club was not responsible.”

CAF ruling sets up dramatic rematch

CAF’s original decision followed a protest from Ampem Darkoa, who argued that the final should not have gone straight to penalties after the teams finished level at 2-2.

CAF upheld the Ghanaian club’s protest but stopped short of ordering a complete replay of the match.

Instead, the governing body ruled that the original 90 minutes remain valid, meaning the continuation will begin at 2-2 with extra time.

The teams are expected to play two 15-minute periods, with a new penalty shootout required if the scores remain level after extra time.

CAF attributed the failure to play extra time to an administrative instruction and confirmed that neither Edo Queens nor Ampem Darkoa was responsible for the error.

WAFU-B ticket hangs in the balance

CAF has also directed that, where practically and legally possible, the continuation should preserve the same sporting conditions from the original fixture.

Those conditions include player eligibility, disciplinary status, substitutions, venue and match officials.

The NFF’s appeal could therefore determine whether CAF’s proposed continuation goes ahead as planned or whether the governing body will have to reconsider its remedy.

WAFU-B is expected to announce the date, kick-off time and venue for the resumption in consultation with CAF and the two national associations.

The stakes remain high, with the eventual winner earning the WAFU Zone B qualification ticket for the 2026 CAF Women’s Champions League final tournament.

For Edo Queens, the appeal represents an attempt to preserve a victory they believe was earned on the pitch, while Ampem Darkoa remain hopeful of completing a comeback after CAF ruled in their favour on the competition-procedure dispute.