Police Bullets play Ethiopia's CBE for Caf Champions League spot
Kenya Police Bullets striker Rebbeca Okwaro (left) dribbles past an opponent from Yei Joints of South Sudan during a Caf Women's Champions League Cecafa qualifiers at Abebe Bikila Stadium in Addis Ababa.
What you need to know:
- CBE clinched Group “A” with maximum nine points. They defeated Bullets 2-1, Yei Joints of South Sudan 4-0, and Rwanda’s Rayon Sports 3-2.
- Bullets were second in the group with four points. They lost 1-0 to Rayon, drew 0-0 with Yei, and lost 2-1 to CBE.
Kenya Police Bullets will Thursday attempt to write history when they play hosts Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) in the final of the fourth edition of the Caf Women’s Champions League Cecafa qualifiers at Abebe Bikila Stadium in Addis Ababe.
The match , which promises to be explosive, kicks off at 2pm (Kenyan time) as Police Bullets look to win their first Cecafa title and on their maiden appearance, while securing a ticket to Africa’s elite women’s club competition.
The final will be a repeat of the Group “A” clash between the two, won by the hosts 2-1.
Bullets coach Beldine Odemba will certainly want her girls to exact revenge on the Ethiopian side even though she dismissed such talk.
“I look at it as any other match,” said Odemba. “They have learnt our strengths, we have learnt theirs. Each team will try to capitalise on the other’s mistakes.”
Odemba said being strong mentally was the secret to their impressive performance in the tournament thus far.
“We are hoping to take the cup home…Most of the players were playing in the tournament for the first time and we had to work on them psychologically because technically they know what they are doing and tactically, they understand so well, what we want from them,” the Harambee Starlets coach said.
CBE are hungry for a victory after falling twice in recent years. The Ethiopian side lost 2-1 to Kenyan side Vihiga Queens in the 2021 final at Moi International Sports Centre in Nairobi.
In the 2023 campaign, they lost 5-4 in post-match penalties to debutantes Jeshi la Kujenga Taifa Queens of Tanzania after a 0-0 deadlock in regular time in the final. In 2022, CBE lost 1-0 to Tanzania’s Simba Queens in the semi-finals at the Azam Sports Complex in Tanzania.
CBE coach Heye Gizaw Birhanu has made it clear that their target is nothing less than lifting the title and qualify for the continental showpiece.
Bullets defeated Simba Queens 3-2 in the semi-finals while CBE downed Uganda’s Kawempe Muslim Ladies 2-1 in the other semi-finals.
CBE clinched Group “A” with maximum nine points. They defeated Bullets 2-1, Yei Joints of South Sudan 4-0, and Rwanda’s Rayon Sports 3-2.
Bullets were second in the group with four points. They lost 1-0 to Rayon, drew 0-0 with Yei, and lost 2-1 to CBE.
