Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies head coach Jerry Tshabalala says it will be important to keep his key players injury-free ahead of the CAF Women’s Champions League final after winning the COSAFA qualifiers.
Sundowns defeated Double Action of Botswana 2-0 in the regional finals to clinch the title for the second time in three years and book their place in the continental finals in Ivory Coast in November.
Sundowns scored 21 goals and conceded just once on their way to the podium, while the Hollywoodbets Super League champions also had Andile Dlamini awarded Goalkeeper of the Tournament and Andisiwe Mgcoyi win the Golden Boot with three goals.
Tshabalala says his biggest worry ahead of the continental finals is keeping his players healthy.
“What I think is going to be key for us? I just had a chat with our medical team, I’ll be the happiest person, if we could go to Ivory Coast with an injury free team,” said Tshabalala.
“A team that doesn’t have injuries. Even last year in Morocco we had a couple of few injuries whereby Andisiwe she was also battling.
“And I think the key thing it will be to manage the players better for us going to Ivory Coast. If we could manage those players better I think that will be key for us.”
Tshabalala, who has won the continental championship before, also commented on the growth of the women’s game in the region looking at how the qualifiers unfolded.
“The football has really grown in leaps and bounds. What really excited me was to see Double Action bring so many young players into this tournament and also see Green Buffaloes also bring so many young players to the tournament,” he added.
“It possess questions to say are other teams going to bring young players to the tournament next year. I’m really excited to see football has grown in leaps and bounds in COSAFA.”
