Boboye Hails Edo Queens After Sealing Semifinal Spot

By Saheed Afolabi

Edo Queens stand-in technical manager Kennedy Boboye has thrown commendation to the players for their composure and clinical finishing after the Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL) Premiership champions defeated ASEC Mimosas of Côte d’Ivoire 3-1 on Thursday to book a place in the semifinals of the 2026 CAF Women’s Champions League WAFU-B qualifiers.

Speaking after the match in Burkina Faso, Boboye said he was delighted with the way his players handled a tough opponent.

“I’m happy that our girls stood their ground. We played against a good side with quality today, but thank God we were able to take our chances when they came. Congratulations to our girls they made us proud and we hope to achieve our purpose of coming to this tournament in Burkina Faso. We promised our people five out of five before we left Benin City,” he said.

Edo Queens took control early. Oluwakemi Adegbuyi opened the scoring in the 23rd minute, before Doosuur Atume doubled the lead just before half-time in the 43rd minute. Although ASEC Mimosas pulled a goal back in the second half, Boboye’s side remained calm and sealed the victory through Oluebube Umajiaku in the 89th minute.

The result confirmed Edo Queens progression to the semifinals with a game to spare in Group B. The team had earlier started their campaign with a dominant 7-0 win over AS Garde Nationale of Niger and now sit top of the group with six points and 10 goals scored. Their final group match will be against Ampem Darkoa Ladies of Ghana.

Boboye, who is overseeing the side in the absence of Moses Aduku who’s in charge of the Falconets at the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in Poland, expressed satisfaction that the players had lived up to the expectations set before their departure from Benin City.