Vihiga Queens head coach Alex Alumirah has said that the postponement of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Women’s Champions League CECAFA qualifiers which had been scheduled for July 17 to August 1 in Nairobi was a blessing in disguising for his team.CECAFA Secretary General Auka Gacheo confirmed the tournament will now kick off on August 7 to 15th in Nairobi. “The financial challenges for holding the tournament are now settled and we are ready. We hope all the teams are ready too and we are looking forward to an exciting challenge,” he said. He says the postponement gave them more time to recover from some slight injuries as well as to step up their preparations further, which has worked in their favor until now.However, he noted that it was a blow mentally to his players as well as the technical bench as they had already put their sight on the tournament but they have now overcome all that and are ready for the “The postponement gave us more time to recover. We had a few injuries but now everything is okay. At first, it was draining mentally both to the technical members and the players because we had prepared already and then something contrary happened. But with time, the players are back to their best. Even when you look at the way they are training, it is very motivating,” Alumirah told Mozzart Sport.1/2Privileged to have hosted our @VihigaCountyGov &Sponsor @GovernorVihiga who visited the camp to support&give us morale ahead of the upcoming CECAFA CAF Qualifiers competition.We had an interactive and motivating session that boosted our psyche as we approach the tournament. pic.twitter.com/BUAeLNu458— Vihiga Queens FC (@Vihigaqueens) July 14, 2021 “Everyone is psyched up well. We are training but it is a non-residential camp. We had gotten our rhythm well but we had to break slightly, though I do not think there was something that was lost,” he said.The tactician also noted that his playing unit is intact, and all are at their best as they continue with their preparations.He also admitted that there is a likelihood that he, together with his technical bench, will be faced with a selection headache owing to the good form that the players are in and the morale surrounding all of them.”The squad is intact. We are just trying to see how everything will pan out. With my bench, I think we will have a selection headache because everyone is at the top of their game and raring to go. After training, we have been discussing with my assistants how to approach the selection because everyone is giving their best. They will definitely give us a selection headache,” he added.The #TotalEnergiesCAFWCL CECAFA qualifying draw to be conducted today. pic.twitter.com/VsBFujbSd7— Cecafaonline (@Cecafaonline) July 7, 2021 They are pooled against Scandinavian FC of Rwanda and FAP FC of Djibouti in Group C.Vihiga earned a ticket to the CECAFA Champions League by virtue of being the 2019 league champions despite Thika Queens winning the just concluded Football Kenya Federation Women Premier League. The side that wins the CECAFA Women’s Champions League will automatically qualify for the inaugural CAF Women’s Champions League that is set to take place in Egypt in December.
