Guinness Super League qualifiers: Bansoa Sports Academy, Lion of Sahel secure semifinal tickets.

This was during their matches in the preliminary round of the 10-team qualification tournament.

Lion of Sahel sailed through after coming through with a hard-earned 2-1 win over Far North Region selection, Ouragan Football Club. This was during the North versus Far North zonal preliminaries of the tournament. 

West Region’s Bansoa Sports Academy qualified after outplaying Abakwa Girls football club of Bamenda 2-0 in Mbouda in the North West versus West zonal preliminaries.

The two teams will faceoff with each other at the Bertoua Municipal Stadium in the East Region on Sunday July 25 in the semifinals.

The winner of the match will automatically qualify for the Guinness Super League championship for the 2026/2027 season.

Ultimate showdown

Lion of Sahel will enter the match riding on much-needed optimistic as it looks to qualify and join the growing list of North Region teams to compete in the women’s topflight championship especially since the competition was rebranded in 2021.

In case of qualification, the Garoua club will position itself as an immediate replacement for Agai Football Club as the North Region’s flagbearer in the competition. 

Agai which gained promotion to the championship last year, was relegated following a poor showing in the league during the recently concluded 2025/2026 season.

Bansoa SA hoping to right the wrongs

Bansoa Sports Academy is competing in the qualification phase of the women’s topflight championship for the fifth successive season following its debut in the competition in 2022.

It will especially be featuring in the decisive semifinals phase of the competition for the third consecutive time when it challenges the Sahelians on Sunday.

The club entered the 2026 competition hoping to right the wrongs that masterminded its elimination by Ngadeu Football Academy, Ita Mbong of Nkambe, Vision Foot of Yaounde and AS Dibamba in the past four campaigns. 

All the four teams went on to secure tickets to the topflight showpiece after eliminating the side. 

Speaking in an interview after silencing zonal rivals Abakwa Girls, the team’s head coach, Doceline Djouanang said the club is focused on securing a promotion ticket at the end of the competition.

The tactician who helped Equatorial Guinea’s Malabo Kings to qualify for the final phase of the inaugural edition of the African Women’s Champions League six years ago, said the Bansoa-based academicians are notably motivated by the rich experience that they have gained from their participation in the qualifying tournament. 

The trainer said the club is also particularly driven by its bid to the end the West Region’s prolonging wait to produce its pioneer representative since the championship was rebranded in 2021. 

“We are approaching our objective step by step. Our goal hasn’t changed. We maintain the same mindset focused on promotion. This evening’s result gave us another ray of hope,” the highly-respected trainer said.

“I don’t have a preference for our next opponent. Regardless of who we face, we will prepare thoroughly. Our key strength lay in our team unity and the girls’ mental resilience,” Djouanang added.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3855 of Wednesday July 22, 2026