CAF annuls Edo Queens shootout win, orders WAFU-B final to resume
Edo Queens are no longer WAFU-B champions — at least not yet.
The Nigerian side must return to the pitch against Ghana’s Ampem Darkoa Ladies after the Confederation of African Football annulled the penalty shootout that appeared to have secured Edo Queens the regional title and qualification for the 2026 CAF Women’s Champions League.
CAF’s Organising Committee for Women’s Football upheld Ampem Darkoa’s protest over the procedure used to determine the September 5 final in Ouagadougou, according to the decision published by the Ghana Football Association.
The key point is unusual but clear: the first 90 minutes still count.
The shootout does not.
How Edo Queens’ victory unravelled
Edo Queens and Ampem Darkoa were level at 2-2 after 90 minutes.
Instead of proceeding to two 15-minute periods of extra time, the final went directly to penalties.
Edo Queens won the shootout 4-1 and were initially recognised as champions.
Ampem Darkoa challenged that procedure.
CAF’s Organising Committee subsequently upheld the protest, ruling that the match should not have gone directly to penalties because extra time was mandatory before a shootout could decide the winner.
Neither club blamed for the error
The ruling carries an important distinction.
CAF did not attribute the procedural failure to Edo Queens or Ampem Darkoa.
According to the decision published by the Ghana FA, neither participating club was held responsible for the error.
That means the ruling does not punish Edo Queens by awarding the final to Ampem Darkoa.
It also does not erase everything that happened in Ouagadougou.
CAF has instead preserved the valid 90 minutes and removed the part of the contest conducted under the incorrect procedure.
The score therefore returns to 2-2.
No full replay — just the missing 30 minutes
Ampem Darkoa sought a full replay or, alternatively, a continuation from the end of regulation time.
CAF chose the second option.
The final will resume from the beginning of extra time, with Edo Queens and Ampem Darkoa playing two 15-minute periods.
If the score remains level after those 30 minutes, another penalty shootout will determine the winner.
It creates an extraordinary scenario: a final originally thought to have ended on September 5 will effectively restart with the opening 90 minutes already locked into the record.
Edo Queens’ Champions League place is back on the line
The consequence goes beyond the WAFU-B trophy.
The regional winner takes the zone’s qualification place for the CAF Women’s Champions League.
Before the protest ruling, Edo Queens had been treated as the qualifier after winning the shootout.
CAF’s earlier competition material still reflects that original result, but the newer Organising Committee decision means the sporting outcome is no longer final.
Edo Queens must now survive the extra time that should have been played in the first place before their qualification can be secured.
Ampem Darkoa, meanwhile, regain an opportunity they argued had been lost when the match went directly to penalties.
Same match, extraordinary conditions
CAF has directed that the continuation should reproduce the sporting position at the end of the original 90 minutes as far as possible.
The Ghana FA says this includes player eligibility, disciplinary status and substitutions already made, while the continuation should retain the same venue and match officials where possible.
A new date and kick-off time are still to be communicated.
Until then, the final remains unresolved.
A title celebration becomes another final
For Edo Queens, the ruling turns celebration back into preparation.
They left Ouagadougou believing the job was complete.
Now the sporting equation has been reset to the precise point at which the regulations say extra time should have begun.
Thirty minutes.
Possibly another shootout.
And the WAFU-B title and CAF Women’s Champions League ticket are still hanging on the outcome.
Edo Queens won the penalties once.
CAF’s ruling means they must win the final again.
