Moroccan champions AS FAR Rabat will step onto the global stage for the first time on Wednesday when they take on reigning European champions Arsenal in the FIFA Women’s Champions Cup, in a landmark fixture for both the club and African women’s football.
The Rabat-based side will make their debut in the competition at Brentford Stadium in London, with the draw handing them a daunting introduction against one of the most formidable teams in the women’s game.
Arsenal, winners of the UEFA Women’s Champions League, represent the highest level of European competition and pose an immediate and uncompromising challenge for the African champions. The English side’s pedigree, built on pace, technical quality and physical intensity, has long established them as a global benchmark.
AS FAR, however, arrive in London as one of the most respected forces in African women’s football. Multiple-time Moroccan champions and winners of the 2025 CAF Women’s Champions League, the club has earned its status through collective discipline, tactical organisation and a deeply rooted winning mentality.
Within the AS FAR camp, their presence at the global tournament is seen not as an unexpected breakthrough but as a natural progression of a carefully structured development pathway. That sense of readiness is underlined by recent form, with the Moroccan side travelling unbeaten in their last five matches.
The run has been marked by controlled performances, consistent results and a defence that has proved difficult to break down. While the scale of the task ahead is acknowledged, confidence within the squad remains high.
Standing in their way is an Arsenal side accustomed to operating at the elite level of European football, capable of dictating matches through sustained pressure and clinical execution. With Brentford Stadium expected to be overwhelmingly in favour of the Gunners, AS FAR will need clarity of thought, emotional control and sustained concentration throughout the contest.
Despite the challenge, the Moroccan champions have no intention of playing a ceremonial role. True to their principles, they are expected to focus on defensive compactness, limit space between the lines and look to exploit transition moments with speed and precision.
Beyond the result, the match represents a defining test for AS FAR. It offers the club a chance to measure itself against the world’s elite and to affirm its legitimacy on the global stage.
More broadly, the fixture stands as a significant moment for African women’s football, signalling a growing ambition not merely to participate at the highest level, but to compete with authority among the game’s established powers.
