Kampala Queens striker Fazila Ikwaput leads the top scorers' chart at the CAF Women's Champions League CECAFA qualifier with eight goals.
Loza Abera has stood out in the CECAFA region in almost all the women’s tournaments held since 2016.
The Ethiopian announced herself to the regional scene on September 14th 2016, when she guided her national team to their first win of the CECAFA Women’s Championship by scoring a brace in a 3-2 win over Rwanda.
Abera has managed to guide her club, Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, to back-to-back appearances at the CECAFA Women’s Champions League since its inception in 2021.
16:49 - 21.08.2023
CAF WCL Ikwaput puts one-man show as Kampala Queens start prayer sessions
Kampala Queens will hope for FAD to pull a miracle and beat Buja Queens for any chance to progress to the semifinals.
Stealing the show
Despite failing to help her team to qualify, her prowess in front of goal has rewarded her with two golden boots in 2021 and 2022.
16:40 - 18.08.2023
CAF WCL Ethiopians leave Kampala Queens’ chances hanging in the balance
The draw leaves Kampala Queens second with four points from three games as the Ethiopians consolidate the top spot with seven.
She stole the show in the inaugural edition in Nairobi, Kenya, by banging 11 goals in two group matches against Zanzibar’s New Generation and Yei Joint Stars from South Sudan to finish the tournament with 13.
She returned with another standout performance last year, scoring in every game she played, including nine goals in the three group matches as CBE finished third.
Tight competition
However, this year, Abera has blown hot and cold in the opening three matches scoring only three goals, the same as Kenyan striker Topister Situma playing for Buja Queens.
14:23 - 15.08.2023
CAF WCL Burundians strike to leave Kampala Queens on the edge
Kampala Queens, Commerical Bank of Ethiopia and Buja Queens are all tied on three points in Group A.
The Ethiopian managed only one goal as her team mauled FAD Djibouti 8-0.
Her shine was certainly stolen by Fazila Ikwaput, who hammered five past the same opponent on Monday as her Kampala Queens summed the group stage with a 6-1 win in Njeru.
The count leaves Abera in a tight spot in the race for the golden boot as she trails Ikwaput by five goals.
With the tough resistance that Ugandan coach Umar Abdalla Loi’s Yei Joint Stars have staged, it remains to be seen whether Abera will make It count in the remaining games now that Ikwaput’s tournament is almost over. Situma’s Buja meets FAD Djibouti on Friday.
Ikwaput scored five for Lady Doves in 2021, making her the second-best striker in the CECAFA qualifiers with 13 goals in total.
Abera is the all-time leading scorer in the qualifiers with 27 goals.
So, will Ikwaput dethrone the Ethiopian queen of goals?
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