The furore that has greeted the participation of three players of Tout Puissant Mazembe otherwise called TP Mazembe Ladies FC of Democratic Republic of Congo alleged to have high testosterone levels in the 2024 CAF Women’s Champions League (WCL) hosted by Morocco from 9 to 23 November, has made it imperative for the African football governing body, CAF to ensure that its Gender Verification Law is fully observed before the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) kicks off in Morocco next year.

Specifically, the criticism that greeted the participation of the trio of TP Mazembe’s Lacho Flora Marta, Marlène Kasaj and Merveille Kanjinga, alleged to have gender eligibility issues in the 4th edition of CAFWCL) tournament in Morocco has once again brought to the fore the vexed issue of gender eligibility in sports and in women’s football in particular.

The outcry against CAF’s decision to allow Marta, Marlène and Merveille to compete in the competition was so loud in Nigeria especially in the social media too where the netizens in particular lashed out at CAF for allowing the trio take part in the competition despite the cloud over their eligibility status.

Indeed, there was a deafening noise about the participation of these three players in Nigeria after they helped TP Mazembe beat Nigeria’s representatives Edo Queens FC 3-1 in the semi-final clash. The Congolese team scored three late goals to change the tide of the game and made their way into the final where they met and defeated AS FAR of Morocco 1-0 to lift the CAFWCL trophy for the first time. Both Merveille and Marlene scored in the match.