Edo Queens CAF ruling faces an NFF appeal after the federation challenged the decision to annul the Nigerian champions’ penalty-shootout victory

The Nigeria Football Federation has appealed the Confederation of African Football’s decision to annul Edo Queens’ victory over Ghanaian champions Ampem Darkoa Ladies in the WAFU-B final and order the decisive match to resume from extra time.

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The NFF filed the appeal on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, arguing that Edo Queens should not be punished for an error by match officials during the September 5 final in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

Edo Queens had been declared WAFU-B champions after beating Ampem Darkoa 4-1 on penalties following a 2-2 draw after 90 minutes.

The result also appeared to secure Nigeria’s representative a place in the 2026 CAF Women’s Champions League.

However, Ampem Darkoa protested the decision to proceed directly to penalties, arguing that the competition regulations required two 15-minute periods of extra time before a shootout.

CAF’s Organising Committee for Women’s Football upheld the protest in a ruling dated September 26, finding that the final had not been completed in accordance with Article 72.4 of the competition regulations.

CAF subsequently annulled the penalty-shootout result and ordered the match to resume from the 2-2 scoreline, with 30 minutes of extra time to be played. A fresh penalty shootout will follow if the teams remain level.

The ruling did not, however, blame either Edo Queens or Ampem Darkoa for the procedural error.

CAF found that the referee had initially been informed that extra time would be required, but received an instruction during the second half to proceed directly to penalties if the match remained level. The referee acted on that instruction in good faith.

That finding forms a central part of the NFF’s appeal.

The federation argues that Edo Queens simply followed the instructions of the match officials and had neither requested nor caused the decision to bypass extra time.

The NFF also drew a distinction between a team benefiting from an official’s error and a team being responsible for creating that error.

“The fact that Edo Queens ultimately won the shoot-out cannot retrospectively convert its compliance with the referee’s instruction into responsibility for the regulatory breach,” the federation argued.

The NFF further questioned whether it was appropriate to remove the sporting consequence of the completed shootout from Edo Queens when neither participating club had been responsible for the irregularity.

“There is an important distinction between benefiting from an official’s error and causing or procuring the error,” the federation said.

The appeal comes after the Nigerian champions were reportedly instructed to return the WAFU-B trophy and medals they received following their original victory.

Edo State Football Association chairman Fred Erhunse confirmed that the club was challenging the decision through the NFF.

CAF’s ruling stopped short of ordering a complete replay. The governing body determined that the original 90 minutes remained valid because there was no finding that the procedural error affected that portion of the match.

Instead, Edo Queens and Ampem Darkoa are expected to resume the contest from the 2-2 scoreline and play two 15-minute periods of extra time.

If the scores remain level after extra time, another penalty shootout will determine the winner and the team that claims WAFU-B’s qualification place at the 2026 CAF Women’s Champions League.

CAF has also directed that, where practically and legally possible, the continuation should preserve the sporting conditions that existed when the original 90 minutes ended. This includes player eligibility, disciplinary status, substitutions and the match officials.

The dispute has therefore moved beyond the pitch, with the NFF now asking CAF’s Appeals Committee to reconsider the consequences of the officiating error.

The federation wants CAF to overturn the ruling and restore Edo Queens’ 4-1 penalty-shootout victory, arguing that the Nigerian side complied with the instructions given by the officials and should not bear responsibility for the administrative mistake.

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For now, however, the WAFU-B title and qualification place remain unresolved as the appeal process continues.