Ghanaian champions Ampem Darkoa Ladies have reportedly won their protest against Edo Queens, with the Confederation of African Football (CAF) said to have annulled the Nigerian club’s penalty-shootout victory in the 2026 WAFU-B Women’s Champions League qualifiers.

Ghanaian tabloid, Ghana Media Hub reported on Sunday that CAF had upheld Ampem Darkoa’s complaint over the handling of the final, effectively overturning Edo Queens’ 4-1 victory on penalties after the match ended 2-2 in regulation time.  

The reported decision centres on the failure to play 30 minutes of extra time before the penalty shootout at the Stade 4 August in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, on September 5.

According to the report, CAF ruled in favour of Ampem Darkoa’s protest, meaning the penalty-shootout result that had originally crowned Edo Queens WAFU-B champions would no longer stand.

The development could have major consequences for the Nigerian champions, who had celebrated the victory as their second WAFU-B title and qualification for the 2026 CAF Women’s Champions League.

Edo Queens had twice come from behind in the final to force the 2-2 draw before winning the ensuing shootout 4-1. CAF’s official tournament report had subsequently recorded the Nigerian side as champions and confirmed their qualification for the continental competition.  

Ampem Darkoa had challenged the decision immediately after the final, arguing that the match should have gone into two 15-minute periods of extra time rather than directly to penalties.

The Ghanaian club said it had been informed during the tournament’s management meeting that extra time would be played if the final ended level after 90 minutes.

Ampem Darkoa further claimed that members of their technical team were preparing substitutions for extra time when they were instead informed that the contest would proceed directly to penalties.  

The Ghanaian champions subsequently requested either that the 30 minutes of extra time be played or that the match resume from the point at which it ended before the shootout.

The latest report from Ghana Media Hub indicates that CAF has now accepted the substance of that complaint and nullified the original penalty-shootout outcome.  

If confirmed by an official CAF ruling, the decision would mean that the WAFU-B qualification ticket remains unresolved and that Edo Queens and Ampem Darkoa would have to return to the pitch to determine the eventual representative at the 2026 CAF Women’s Champions League.

The situation would represent a dramatic reversal for Edo Queens, who had already received congratulations from the Nigeria Football Federation following their reported title triumph. NFF Acting General Secretary Emmanuel Ikpeme had described the achievement as a significant feat after the Nigerian side defeated Ampem Darkoa on penalties.  

Edo Queens had produced an impressive campaign in Burkina Faso, including a 5-1 semi-final victory over hosts USFA, before the dramatic final against Ampem Darkoa.

The Nigerian champions had also dominated the individual awards, with Doosuur Anastasia Atume claiming the Golden Boot and Oluwakemi Adegbuyi named Player of the Tournament.  

Ampem Darkoa, meanwhile, entered the final unbeaten and had already defeated Edo Queens 2-1 during the group stage before the Nigerian side reversed the outcome in the controversial final.  

The reported CAF decision now throws the WAFU-B qualification picture open again and could set up another high-stakes encounter between two of the region’s leading women’s clubs.

However, CAF’s official website had, as of the latest publicly indexed tournament report, still listed Edo Queens as the WAFU-B champions. The reported annulment therefore awaits publication of the formal CAF decision or an official communication from CAF/WAFU-B before the change can be regarded as independently confirmed.