The Confederation of African Football (CFA) held, on Monday at its headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, the draw for the qualifications for the Women’s African Cup of Nations (AfCON) to be held in Morocco from July 2 to 23, 2022.
The qualifiers for the next Women’s AfCON should begin during the international window of June 2021. At the end of the final tournament, we will know the representatives of Africa at the World Cup that Australia will co-organize in 2023 with New Zealand.
In fact, thanks to the change in format of the Women’s World Cup, from 24 to 32 teams, the semi-finalists of AfCON 2022 will defend the colors of the continent. In Morocco, defending champion Nigeria is the favorite. The Super Falcons have won nine of the previous eleven editions of the Women’s AfCON.
A silver medalist in Ghana in 2018, South Africa also has a say in the competition. Just like the Indomitable Lionesses of Cameroon who won bronze the same year.
Host of the tournament, Morocco has bolstered its technical staff with the appointment as coach of Reynald Pedros, a former French international and former coach of the Olympique Lyonnais women’s team.
In total, 44 teams are engaged in the qualifiers of the Women’s AfCON for 12 spots available. To get there, three rounds with home and away matches will be needed. The first matches, including the clash between Nigeria and Ghana, are scheduled from June 7 to 15, 2021.
In addition, the main body of continental football has drawn lots for the qualifiers for the Under-17 Women’s World Cup (India 2022). Twenty-nine teams will battle for Africa’s three spots.
Forty teams are present on the starting line for the qualifications for the U20 Women’s World Cup. After five rounds, organized back and forth, only two selections will go to Costa Rica in 2022.
This commitment of many African federations in women’s competitions can be explained in particular by CAF’s efforts. Indeed, through a four-year plan (2020-2023), it has adopted its “very first strategy” to develop women’s football on the continent.
First round of the 2022 Women’s AfCON 2022 qualifiers:
Uganda – Ethiopia, Kenya – South Sudan, Eritrea – Burundi, Djibouti – Rwanda, Malawi – Zambia, Tanzania – Namibia, Zimbabwe – eSwatini, Angola – Botswana, Mozambique – South Africa, Algeria – Sudan, Egypt – Tunisia, Equatorial Guinea – DR Congo, Sao Tome – Togo, Congo – Gabon, Central African Republic – Cameroon, Sierra Leone – Gambia, Liberia – Senegal, Mali – Guinea, Guinea Bissau – Mauritania, Burkina Faso – Benin, Nigeria – Ghana and Niger – Cote d’Ivoire.
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