Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies coach Godfrey Sapula has his sights firmly set on another CAF Women’s Champions League title as the South African champions prepare for the continental stage.
There is a familiar expectation around Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies whenever the CAF Women’s Champions League comes into view.
As the winners of the inaugural edition in 2021 and reclaiming their title 2023, Sundowns helped establish the competition’s early standards and remain one of the continent’s most consistent forces. Their return this season comes with a new voice in the technical area, following Godfrey Sapula’s appointment as head coach after the departure of Jerry Tshabalala.
Sapula inherits a side accustomed to competing for honours, but also one that understands better than most how quickly the women’s game in Africa is evolving.
Since that inaugural tournament in Egypt, the CAF Women’s Champions League has grown in both size and quality.
Ahead of the tournament, Sapula sat down exclusively with CAFOnline to discuss the evolution of the competition, the legacy of Sundowns’ historic triumph, the demands of balancing domestic and continental football and his ambitions for the campaign.
CAFOnline: The CAF Women’s Champions League has grown significantly since its inaugural edition in 2021. How have you seen the competition and the overall standard of African women’s football develop?
Godfrey Sapula: Since 2021, the competition has grown significantly. Firstly, the number of teams has increased and you have to play and compete more to be crowned African champions.
But it is not only about the number of teams. The quality of the teams competing in the CAF Women’s Champions League has also improved. There is a lot more competition in the women’s game now.
More teams are also able to conduct proper analysis, while coaching standards have improved, with CAF ensuring that coaches are properly qualified to compete at this level.
So there has been significant growth in the women’s game since 2021. It is more difficult now for one team to simply dominate, but that is good for the growth of women’s football on the continent.
CAFOnline: Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies won the inaugural CAF Women’s Champions League. What did that achievement mean for the club, and how has it influenced the team’s ambitions in the years since?
Sapula: I think it set the standard, but it also raised the expectations. At a big club like Sundowns, the team always strives for excellence. Success brings great expectations.
It is good pressure because it keeps the team at a level where we are always competing to win the CAF Women’s Champions League. It is good pressure for everyone associated with the club.
We have tasted the glory and we want more. That experience has also shown us how the game is evolving, and it motivates us to make sure that we are always in a position to compete for the trophy.
CAFOnline: What have you identified as the biggest areas of growth in African women’s football, both on and off the pitch?
Sapula: I see a lot of growth. Firstly, I think coaching has improved significantly. CAF has done well in making sure there is proper coaching education and that coaches are qualified to work at CAF Women’s Champions League level, which is very important.
The second area is the physicality of the game. The game has become more physical. There is more running, more strength and, when you watch the teams competing, you can see that the physical side of the game has improved massively.
You can also see that there is more planning and analysis. More teams are using data and analysing their opponents so that they can prepare better for matches.
Those are three key areas where I have seen massive growth in the women’s game.
CAFOnline: How do you balance the demands of domestic football with the expectations that come with competing at the highest level of African club football?
Sapula: The Domestic league and the expectations that come with the CAF Women’s Champions League are not an easy assignment.
Firstly, the format of the domestic league means there are fewer matches to be played, which means that many players do not get enough game time going into the CAF Women’s Champions League. That is one of the challenges.
The second challenge is that the physicality is not always the same. We have to find ways of simulating the level of physicality we will experience in the CAF Women’s Champions League and find the right means to prepare ourselves better.
One of the ways we do that is by playing against boys’ teams. We have found this to be a good solution because they provide the level of intensity and physicality that we need.
There are more duels, more high balls and more physical battles, and the intensity helps us prepare better.
For now, we believe that is a good solution, and it works for us. That is how we try to balance the demands of domestic football while preparing for the CAF Women’s Champions League.
CAFOnline: What would represent a successful CAF Women’s Champions League campaign for Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies, and what would you like to see from your team throughout the tournament?
Sapula: For Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies, a successful campaign would be to win the competition and be crowned champions. But we have to take it one game at a time.
For us, it will be important to split our objectives into two. The first is to do well in the group stage and qualify for the knockout phase. From there, we can focus on the semi-final and final.
It is important not to look too far ahead because you can lose focus on what you need to do in the early stages. Our immediate job is to win those matches, perform well and dominate the group so that we can qualify for the semi-finals.
Then we can focus on the semi-final and, hopefully, the final.
It is important to split the campaign into those two stages and focus on the group stage first. But the ultimate objective for us is to lift the trophy.
