How prepared is She Corporates Football Club for the CECAFA Zonal Champions League Qualifiers?

She Corporates Football Club are the reigning Champions of the 2021/22 FUFA Women’s Super League, this gives them the right to represent Uganda at the CAF Women’s Champions League.

In order to this, they have to go through a regional mini-tournament that is termed as the CECAFA Zonal Champions League Qualifier tournament that will run from 13th August 2022 – 28 August 2022 in the city of Dar es Salam, Tanzania.

The Nakawa based side is in group B alongside a team Lady Doves beat to third place in the first edition, Simba Queens of Tanzania, GRFC from Djibouti and Yei Joint Stars of South Sudan.

This being the second time this tournament is going to be played, She Corporates FC will be the second team in history to represent Uganda at this stage after Lady Doves in the 2021/22 and ingural edition where they did not go past the qualifiers, finishing third.

The CECAFA region was represented by one team in Vihiga Queens from Kenya. This time round, She Corporates will look to do better than Lady Doves with huge expectation of qualifying and bringing the Zonal trophy home.

How prepared is team?

The Sharks have have acquired the services of experienced CAF ‘A’ Licenced tactician Charles Ayiekoh Lukula ‘Mbuzi’ to replace Isa Hassan who was in charge of the previous campaign.

He has been brought in to handle the side in the CECAFA Women’s Champions League zonal qualifiers mainly because of his experience having previously coached sides like; Maroons FC, Kirinya Jinja SS, SOANA, Police FC, Water FC, Wandegeya FC, Bunamwaya SC, Horizon FC and URA FC.

Adding to all this he is well known among the Club heads having coached Nakawa based Makerere University Business School (MUBS) in the Pepsi University Football League and National Beach Soccer League who share a ground with the She Corporates Football Club.

Ayeikoh will be looking forward to sharpen the girls fitness levels, in order to match up with the other teams in the Zonal qualifier.

Bringing in a new coach aside, She Coporates haven’t not released a single player but just added a number of new names to their squad with most of them coming in from Uganda Christian University Lady Cardinals.

The first name on the list was Pheobe Banura, the Crested Cranes skipper who was the second signing of the Club. Banura comes in to compete with one of last season’s best player of the team Miriam Ibunyu, something that will depth and quality to the left flank.

Pheobe Banura after the first practice match against the Kampala Select team.

The other names coming in from UCU Lady Cardinals are speedy right back Cissy Nakate who added to compete with Aminah Babirye who was the best right back last season as voted by various football fans and lethal forward Jackline Nakasi who scored a couple of goals over the years with hope that she will score more to add on new other signing Joanita Ainembabazi and Favor Nambatya’s tally.

The other additions to the squad were Spencer Nakacwa and experienced goalkeeper Zahara Nankya from Makerere University Women Football Club, a
player who participated in last year’s Qualifier edition with Lady Doves as a back up Goalkeeper for Daisy Nakaziro and aim will to provide competition to Daphyn Nyayenga in this area.

Anita Namata and Esther Naluyimba, both from Uganda Martyrs High School Lubaga WFC were the icing of the cake coming in to boost the midfield in a absence of Ronah Regina Nantege who is out with an injury.

Anita Namata at the club’s unveiling ceremony.

They come in to add more fire power to players like last season’s Most Valuable Player Phionah Nabbumba, Captain Naume Nagadya, Shamirah, Cissy Nantongo and many other players in the middle of the park.

Away from the squad additions, the Sharks have also hard a number of practice games with the first being played at the Kawempe grounds against Kawempe Muslim Women Football Club, with the Sharks losing 2-1.

The second practice match was played in Lubaga at the Uganda Martyrs H/S grounds facing the last season’s league’s second runners up, the game ending in a 1-1 draw and winning their last 5-0 against a Kampala Select with two braces from Favour Nambatya and Phiona Nabbumba plus the other from Spencer Nakacwa.

Aminah Babirye celebrating Favor’s second goal against the Kampala Select team in a friendly at Phillip Omondi Stadium, Lugogo.

Talking of preparation, on the mentle side, FUFA women’s super league clubs delegate and Lady Doves FC Chief Executive Officer, Scovia Angeyo paid a courtesy visit to the She Corporate FC on Monday ahead of their trip to Tanzania.

Mrs Scovia giving Margaret Namirimu some training equipment.

The Lady Doves CEO, the club that represented the country last season, she gave the team a lot of encouraging words, on top of that she gave water and training equipment as mentioned by She Corporate CEO, Mathias Kakulu.

Scovia Angeyo who represents Super league clubs in FUFA wasn’t the only individual who came to sharpen the girls mentally, The FUFA Communications Director Ahmed Hussein being the other, coming in to conduct a session about media activities with the team.

The FUFA Communications Director @AhmedMarsha today morning conducted a session about media activities with @SheCorporateFC as the team prepares for the forthcoming @CAFwomen's Champions league qualifiers in Dar es Salaam, Tz later this month pic.twitter.com/uQoNfhwZLQ

— FUFA (@OfficialFUFA) August 3, 2022