Tura Magic say their participation in the just ended 2021 Women’s Champions League Council of Southern African Football Associations (COSAFA) Qualifiers in South Africa was a huge learning experience.

In a media release sent to Nampa on Sunday, the sport club’s chairman and head of delegation, Isack Hamata, said the club took away very hard but valuable lessons from the tournament.

“Our girls fought gallantly but the gap between Tura Magic Ladies and our opponents was as clear as daylight. The opponents were better prepared for the tournament, backed by strong domestic leagues and support structures in their home countries,” Hamata said.

He said they had set themselves four objectives which were; to go and compete to the best of their abilities, expose their players to professional opportunities, measure their strength against the rest of the region, and establish relationships with other clubs and federations in the region to improve their game.

This he believes was achieved in totality as some of their players have caught the eye of the other clubs and are expecting official invitations for loan spells or permanent moves.

Hamata added that they were honoured to be the first club to represent Namibia at the inaugural COSAFA Women’s Champions League which ended at King Zwelithini Stadium in Durban on Saturday.

Mamelodi Sundowns won the inaugural competition and will represent COSAFA in the Confederation of African Football Women’s Champions League in Egypt later this year.

“We are truly thankful for the opportunity that we were granted to be part of history. We do not take the support for granted and therefore we commit to working harder to ensure that when we have another opportunity to compete against the region, that we will produce better results,” said Hamata.

He thanked the Namibia Football Association and sponsors Debmarine Namibia for their support as the club prepared and participated in the tournament.

Only seven teams competed in the inaugural COSAFA Women’s Championships but the organisers have indicated that it will be compulsory for all member countries to participate from next year.

Hamata said Tura Magic are already in talks with clubs from neighbouring countries to host tri-nations series on a yearly rotational basis.

Magic lost their matches to Black Rhinos Queens of Zimbabwe 3-0 and to Green Buffaloes of Zambia 1-0 to exit the competition in the group stages.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency