Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies began their 2026 CAF Women’s Champions League campaign with a goalless draw against Egyptian side FC Masar in their opening Group A encounter in Ismailia on Sunday.
The Brazilians, who entered the competition on the back of an unbeaten domestic campaign, were unable to find the breakthrough against a determined FC Masar side, settling for a point in their first outing of the continental tournament.
Despite the result not being what they had hoped for, Banyana Ba Style remain focused on the positives from the encounter and are determined to build on their performance in their next fixture.
Reflecting on the outcome, Melinda Kgadiete acknowledged the disappointment of not securing all three points but stressed that the encounter provided valuable lessons for the team.
“It is not the result we were looking for, because we came into this competition with the ambition of starting on a winning note and collecting all three points. However, football does not always go according to plan and we have to take the positives from this encounter. We learnt a lot from the game, and there are several things we can build on as we prepare for our next challenge. We cannot dwell too much on the result because we have another important match coming up. Our focus now is on getting a positive result and showing what we are capable of as a team.”
Wendy Shongwe also recognised the challenge posed by FC Masar, particularly their defensive approach, which required patience and persistence from the Brazilians.
“It was not an easy game at all. We knew we were going to face a difficult opponent, and we had to work very hard throughout the match. FC Masar came at us with a low defensive block, which made it challenging to find spaces and create the opportunities we wanted. We had to remain patient, stay organised and manage the game as best as we could. We will take the lessons from this match, go back, work on the areas where we need to improve and prepare ourselves for the next game. We are confident that we can do better and our objective remains to get the result we want and keep moving forward in this competition.”
The result means Sundowns Ladies share a point with FC Masar, while the group’s other opening fixture between Morocco’s FUS Rabat and Cameroonian side Lekié Football Filles also ended in a goalless draw. All four teams therefore begin their Group A campaigns with one point apiece.
Attention now turns to Wednesday, 4 November, when Banyana Ba Style take on Lekié Football Filles in their second Group A fixture. The Brazilians will be eager to turn their hard work into a positive result as they look to strengthen their position in the race for a place in the knockout stages.
With two group matches still to play, Sundowns Ladies remain firmly focused on their continental ambitions and will be determined to return to winning ways against the Cameroonian side.
