Nyarko restored Ampem Darkoa’s advantage from the penalty spot in the second half, only for Edo Queens substitute Oluebube Umejiaku to force a 2-2 draw with a stoppage-time equaliser.
The match then went straight to a penalty shootout, which Edo Queens won 4-1 to claim the WAFU Zone B title and the region’s sole ticket to the continental competition.
According to the club’s Communication Department, the tournament’s regulations, as explained to all participating teams at the pre-competition Management Committee Meeting, provided for thirty minutes of extra time played in two fifteen-minute halves before any match that ended level after ninety minutes would proceed to penalties.
The club maintains that this provision was overridden only for the final, on the instruction of the match’s general coordinator, without any communication to Ampem Darkoa Ladies.
“We had four substitutes ready to come in, only to be told of a penalty shootout against the express written provisions of the CAF Women’s Champions League Regulations.”Ampem Darkoa Ladies FC, Communication Department
The club says it has exhausted the competition’s own protest procedures and has now placed the matter before both WAFU Zone B and CAF, seeking either the playing of the omitted extra time or a continuation of the match. Ampem Darkoa Ladies FC has also thanked the Ghana Football Association for its support throughout the process and says it awaits a formal ruling from the CAF and WAFU Zone B secretariats.
Ampem Darkoa Ladies had gone into the final unbeaten in the tournament, having beaten Edo Queens 2-1 during the group stage. A win in the final would have secured Ghana’s return to the CAF Women’s Champions League after a three-season absence from the competition.
