CAIRO. Kawempe Muslim Ladies coach Ayub Khalifa has urged his players to regain their confidence ahead of Sunday’s decisive meeting with Mali’s USFAS Bamako.
The Ugandan champions face their final Group B assignment at the Caf Women’s Champions League in Egypt following a 2-1 defeat to Ampem Darkoa Ladies.
The setback against the Ghanaian champions left Kawempe with three points from two matches, complicating their pursuit of a semi-final place.
Kawempe had opened their debut campaign with a memorable 3-2 victory over defending champions AS FAR Rabat, underlining their ability to challenge established opposition.
However, Thursday’s defeat shifted Khalifa’s attention towards restoring belief, with Friday’s recovery session offering an opportunity to address both physical and psychological readiness.
“It was actually a good recovery session after yesterday’s loss. We performed poorly; we lost the game which we actually wanted to win,” Khalifa said.
The coach was encouraged by his players’ response in training but stressed the need to move beyond their disappointment before facing USFAS.
“We are moving to the Sunday game with a must-win situation. Basically, what I was looking at in this training was to bring back their minds, psychologically prepare them, showing them that this is not the end,” he said.
Khalifa believes his players still have an opportunity to shape their campaign, provided they approach the final group fixture with renewed focus.
“We still have a game to play, a game that will put us in the semi-finals. So, we have had a very good session, and the response was very positive,” he added.
USFAS enter the encounter after defeats in their opening two fixtures, seeking their first points against a Kawempe side also under pressure to respond.
The victory over AS FAR provides Kawempe a reminder of what they can achieve through resilience and collective effort.
They must now rediscover those qualities against the Malian side to keep their semi-final ambitions alive.