Against the backdrop of a raucous match day at Ismailia, Egypt, Moroccan military-affiliated football club AS FAR etched its name into continental women’s football history books, securing a gruelling 3-1 victory over South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns to become the first side ever to retain the TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Champions League title, as well as the first three-time winner of the competition. The fixture burst into life in the 23rd minute when AS FAR forward Imane Touriss unleashed a crisp, long-range strike from outside the 18-yard box that caught Sundowns’ seasoned custodian Andile Dlamini off guard, handing the North African side an early lead. Mere two minutes later, South Africa’s Sundowns hit back in spectacular fashion: winger Refilwe Tholakele cut inside from a tight flank angle and curled a blistering right-footed effort across the face of goal, nestling the ball perfectly into the far right post to level the scores. The pendulum swung back to AS FAR shortly before half-time, as 17-year-old prodigy right-back Hiba Youssoufi fired a 12-yard attempt that took a crucial deflection off Sundowns defender Asanda Hadebe, looping past Dlamini to restore her side’s lead. In the final quarter of the match, as Sundowns – nicknamed the Brazilians – poured forward in droves in a desperate search for a second equaliser, AS FAR’s lethal counter-attack struck: winger Fatima Tagnaout produced a searing run down the right flank to carve open the Sundowns backline, squaring a perfect pass to the unmarked Touriss, who slammed a low first-time finish into the back of the net to seal the 3-1 lead with 13 minutes left on the clock. Sundowns’ star forward Ronnel Donnelly, who had bagged a sensational hat-trick in her side’s semi-final rout of Uganda’s Kawempe Muslim Ladies, was completely neutralised by AS FAR’s rock-solid defensive line for the full 90 minutes. The South African runners-up’s only notable second-half chance came off substitute Nthabiseng Majiya, whose deflected effort drifted narrowly wide of the target; after falling two goals behind, Sundowns failed to register a single on-target attempt to test AS FAR’s legendary goalkeeper Khadija Er-Rmichi. Remarkably, AS FAR’s path to the historic title run was far from seamless: the Moroccan side suffered a shock opening-group defeat to Kawempe Muslim Ladies before rallying to storm through the knockout stages. The three-time champions walk away with a $600,000 (approximately £449,000) prize purse, adding to their 2022 triumph where they thrashed Sundowns 4-0 and their 2023 final victory over Ivory Coast’s ASEC Mimosas. For Sundowns, the two-time former champions – who claimed the inaugural 2021 title and lifted the trophy again in 2023 – were left to settle for a runners-up spot. AS FAR dominated the tournament’s individual honour roll too: Touriss took home the Golden Boot award for her tournament-leading four goals, skipper Ghizlane Chebbak was named Player of the Tournament, and shot-stopper Er-Rmichi collected the Golden Glove award for her exceptional performances between the posts.