NFF appeals CAF decision to reopen Edo Queens final

The Nigeria Football Federation has appealed a Confederation of African Football ruling that annulled Edo Queens’ victory over Ghanaian champions Ampem Darkoa Ladies in the WAFU-B final. The appeal was filed on Tuesday on behalf of the Nigerian club. Edo Queens won the September 5 final 4-1 on penalties after the match in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, ended 2-2 in regulation time.

The victory initially made the Nigerian side WAFU-B champions and earned it the zone’s qualification ticket for the CAF Women’s Champions League. CAF later ruled, following a protest by Ampem Darkoa, that the match should have gone through two periods of extra time before a penalty shootout. The governing body cited Article 72.4 of the competition regulations and ordered the game to resume from extra time.

In its appeal, the NFF argued that Edo Queens should not be punished for the officials’ decision to proceed directly to penalties. The federation said the players neither requested nor caused the omission of extra time, but complied with the referee’s instruction and took part in the shootout in good faith. The NFF also said there had been no finding of misconduct, manipulation or bad faith against Edo Queens.

It distinguished between benefiting from an official’s error and causing or procuring that error, arguing that the team’s success in the shootout could not retrospectively make it responsible for the regulatory breach. The federation questioned CAF’s authority to annul a completed shootout and require the match to restart when neither participating team was responsible for the irregularity. It asked the CAF Appeals Committee to overturn the ruling and uphold Edo Queens’ victory, saying any remedy should have a clear regulatory basis and be proportionate to the established error.

The supplied material does not state when the appeal will be decided.