Any new venture inevitably brings with it a host of opportunities. And with the FIFA Women’s Champions Cup™ having been launched this year, there will be no shortage of opportunities.
The Women’s Champions Cup is indeed the opportunity for continental champions to compete for a world title. In the first round in October 2025, PR China’s Wuhan Chegu Jiangda WFC, the 2024/25 Asian champions, defeated OFC winners Auckland United FC (1-0), earning them a place in the second round this December. The second round winner will then compete in the final round in January-February 2026 against European champions Arsenal in the semi-finals.
But first, on the eve of the second round in Casablanca, Morocco, on Sunday 14 December, the coaches of Wuhan and Moroccan club ASFAR, who won the 2025 CAF Champions League title in November, spoke at a press conference. They each acknowledge that this match is an incredible opportunity for their players.
“Being here and facing ASFAR gives us the opportunity to learn,” said Wuhan coach Weiwei Chang. His team already has a wealth of experience, with Chinese internationals such as Wang Shuang, goalkeeper Chen Chen and captain Yao Wei, who won the very first edition of the AFC Champions League last season.
“We are here to learn, so it’s great to be in Morocco to face them,” added Chang. “It’s also an opportunity to showcase the excellence of our Chinese team and our spirit. We’re ready. Tomorrow [Sunday]’s match will be great for the development of women’s football in general.”
His ASFAR counterpart, Mohamed Amine Alioua, also believes that Sunday’s encounter will be an opportunity to make progress against a team with a completely different style.
“As you know, the African continent is not comparable to the Asian or European continents, and it is always important to take this distinction into account,” said the 37-year-old coach. “The Asian team we are going to face is very, very disciplined tactically, and their daily life in China or Asia is clearly reflected in their performances on the pitch, which makes the confrontation particularly difficult.”
“However, we have our own tools and strategies, which we have prepared meticulously,” added the man who led ASFAR to two African Champions League titles, in 2022 and again this year. “We have studied the balance and structure of the Chinese team, and we are confident in our ability to perform well. Our team’s creativity alone will not be enough to make the difference; we must focus on developing our tactical performance.”
“We have seen their matches, and they have a very solid tactical system,” said Chang about his North African opponents. “ASFAR are African champions; we respect them a lot. African clubs have a slightly different style of play. We consider them to be very aggressive and powerful opponents. Their level of play is also very high. This applies to both the women’s and men’s teams.”
Alioua hopes that his club will be able to learn from Morocco’s last competitive match against an Asian team. “We played an identical match, but not at club level: with the national team,” he said. “Morocco faced the Republic of Korea in the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, and there were eight or nine ASFAR players (including the iconic captain Ghizlane Chebbak, Zineb Redouani, Hanane Ait El Hadj and Khadija Er-Rmichi). So we know the characteristics of Asian teams.”
At the end of a close match, Morocco won 1-0 thanks to a goal from Ibtissam Jraidi, a former ASFAR player. The Atlas Lionesses then beat Linda Caicedo’s Colombia by the same score to qualify for the round of 16 in what was their first Women’s World Cup. “We are very, very well prepared to face this Chinese team. Inshallah, we will play a match that will make the Moroccan people very proud.”
