The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has annulled Edo Queens’ 4-1 penalty-shootout victory over Ghana’s Ampem Darkoa Ladies in the final of the WAFU Zone B qualifying tournament for the 2026 CAF Women’s Champions League.
CAF’s Organising Committee for Women’s Football has instead ordered the match to resume from the beginning of extra time, with the score standing at 2-2 per a ruling sighted by JoySports.
The decision follows a formal protest submitted by the Ghana Football Association (GFA) on behalf of Ampem Darkoa Ladies after the September 5 final at the 4th of August Stadium in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
The match finished 2-2 after 90 minutes, but instead of playing the required two periods of 15 minutes of extra time, the teams went directly to a penalty shoot-out, which Edo Queens won 4-1.
According to CAF, that procedure was contrary to the regulations governing the competition.
“The information available to the Committee therefore establishes that the omission of extra time was not caused by either participating club,” CAF said in its decision.
“It resulted from erroneous administrative instruction and the consequent non-application of the applicable competition regulations by the match officials.”
CAF said reports from the referee and the refereeing assessor showed that the officials had been reminded before the match that extra time was required if the score remained level after 90 minutes.
The same procedure, according to the decision, had also been communicated to the two teams during the Match Coordination Meeting.
However, during the second half, the referee was instructed to proceed directly to penalties if the match ended in a draw.
“The Referee acted upon this instruction in good faith,” CAF said. “Consequently, the required extra time was not played.”
The GFA filed its initial formal protest with CAF and WAFU Zone B on September 7, within 48 hours of the match, before submitting a detailed petition on September 9.
Ampem Darkoa argued that going directly to penalties after the 2-2 draw breached Articles 13.1 and 72.4 of the CAF Women’s Champions League Regulations.
Those provisions, the club argued, required extra time to be played before penalties could be used to determine the winner.
Ampem Darkoa also told CAF that its tactical and sporting decisions during the 90 minutes, including the management of substitutions, were made on the expectation that the match would proceed into extra time if it ended level.
The Ghanaian champions specifically argued that their complaint was not about a refereeing decision involving a goal, foul, penalty or other incident during play.
Instead, they said it concerned the failure to apply the prescribed procedure for determining the winner of a drawn final.
Ampem Darkoa initially requested that the final be replayed in full.
Alternatively, the club asked that the match resume from the end of regular time, at 2-2, with the two periods of 15 minutes of extra time played before a fresh penalty shoot-out, if necessary.
CAF has now adopted the second approach.
Article 72.4 of the CAF Women’s Champions League Regulations states that if the final is drawn after regular time, “an extra time of 2 x 15 minutes shall be played”.
Only if the score remains level after extra time can the winner be determined through kicks from the penalty mark.
CAF said Articles 13.1 and 72.4 establish a mandatory sequence for a drawn WAFU Zone B final:
1. 90 minutes of regular time;
2. two periods of 15 minutes of extra time; and
3. penalties only if the teams remain level after extra time.
“Article 72.4 uses mandatory language by providing that, in the event of a draw at the end of regular time in the final, extra time of two periods of fifteen minutes shall be played,” the Committee said.
It consequently determined that “the direct recourse to kicks from the penalty mark after regular time was inconsistent with Article 72.4.”
CAF also clarified that the regulation governing the final tournament applies to the zonal qualifying competition.
“Article 13.1 extends the relevant technical criteria of the final tournament to zonal qualifying tournaments,” the decision states.
“The procedure under Article 72.4 therefore applied to the WAFU Zone B qualifying final between Edo Queens FC and Ampem Darkoa Ladies FC.”
CAF considered three possible outcomes: upholding the penalty shoot-out, ordering a complete replay, or resuming the match from the beginning of extra time.
The Committee rejected the idea of confirming the 4-1 penalty result because doing so would validate a method of determining the winner that was expressly contrary to Article 72.4.
“Such confirmation would leave the mandatory extra-time stage entirely unfulfilled,” CAF said.
It also rejected a complete replay because the first 90 minutes had been validly played.
“Ninety minutes of the match were validly played and ended in a 2-2 draw,” the Committee said.
It added that there was no evidence that the conduct of regular time had itself been affected by an irregularity serious enough to require those 90 minutes to be annulled.
CAF therefore concluded that a full replay would force both teams to repeat a part of the match that had already been properly completed.
Instead, it found that resuming the match from the beginning of extra time would preserve the valid result of the 90 minutes while correcting the regulatory breach.
“Resuming the match from the beginning of extra time preserves the valid sporting outcome of the ninety minutes already played while restoring the omitted regulatory stage,” CAF said.
The Committee added that the approach “avoids granting either club an automatic advantage and allows qualification to be determined on the field of play in accordance with the Regulations.”
It described the remedy as “the most proportionate, equitable and sporting remedy” because it corrects the violation without cancelling the 90 minutes already played and without attributing fault to either club.
In its formal decision, CAF declared the GFA protest admissible and upheld it on its merits.
It ruled that the direct use of penalties after regular time breached Articles 13.1 and 72.4.
More significantly, CAF expressly annulled the penalty shoot-out and its result.
“The penalty shoot-out conducted immediately after regular time, together with its 4-1 result in favour of Edo Queens FC, is annulled and shall have no sporting effect,” the decision states.
CAF ordered that the match “shall not be replayed from the beginning” but instead “shall resume from the beginning of extra time, with the score standing at EDO QUEENS FC 2-2 AMPEM DARKOA LADIES FC.”
The continuation will consist of two 15-minute periods of extra time.
If the teams are still level after those 30 minutes, a new penalty shoot-out will be held to determine the winner.
CAF has also set out detailed conditions for the resumption.
As far as practically and legally possible, the match must resume under the same sporting conditions that existed at the end of regular time.
That includes the players who were on the field at the final whistle, eligible substitutes who remained available, and the disciplinary status of players and officials.
The substitutions already made by each club will also stand, as will the number of substitutions each side had remaining at the end of the 90 minutes.
CAF has further directed that the same venue be used, subject to confirmation from WAFU B, and that the same match officials officiate the continuation.
WAFU B is responsible for determining and communicating the date, kick-off time and venue in coordination with CAF, the Ghana Football Association and the Nigeria Football Federation.
The zonal body will also bear the organisational and financial costs directly arising from the continuation.
Before the match resumes, WAFU B must provide the clubs with the validated match sheet and substitution record from the original game, the confirmed list of eligible players and substitutes, and the applicable disciplinary status of every player and official.
The eventual winner will qualify as the WAFU Zone B representative for the 2026 CAF Women’s Champions League final tournament.
CAF’s decision was signed by Bestine Kazadi, President of the CAF Organising Committee for Women’s Football, and dated September 26, 2026, in Kinshasa.
The decision effectively leaves the WAFU B final unresolved more than three weeks after the original match. Edo Queens’ 4-1 shoot-out victory no longer has sporting effect, while Ampem Darkoa retain the 2-2 scoreline from the 90 minutes.
The two clubs must now return to the field to play the extra time that should have been played in Ouagadougou on September 5.
Only after those 30 minutes, and, if necessary, another penalty shoot-out will WAFU B have its representative for the 2026 CAF Women’s Champions League final tournament.
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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
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