The Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) gets underway this weekend, with host nation Morocco opening the tournament with a Group A clash against Zambia at the Olympic Stadium in Rabat on Saturday night.
Morocco were runners-up in the last WAFCON in 2022 and they will look to go one step further this year – though they must first tackle a stiff challenge from the Copper Queens, who finished third in the last edition of the tournament and could be considered ‘dark horses’ for the title this year.
“We are ready to hunt [against Morocco],” said Zambia coach Nora Häuptle.
“They have technically good players, and we are aware of that, but we want to challenge them the best we can and find the right strategy to go at them.”
After the opener on Saturday, Sunday features a trio of matches: Senegal and DR Congo clash in Mohammedia in the other Group A fixture in the late afternoon, before Group B takes centre stage in the evening in Casablanca.
Nigeria – the WAFCON’s most successful team, with nine titles (11 if you include the pre-tournament format) – will battle Tunisia at the Larbi Zaouli Stadium, before Algeria and Botswana cross swords at the Pere Jego Stadium.
The Super Falcons last won the Nations Cup in 2018 and coach Justine Madugu has dubbed their goal of reclaiming the title ‘Mission X’.
“It will always be a work in progress, but we are very focused on our realisable and achievable target of Mission X,” said the Nigerian tactician.
“The girls are ready and are showing real hunger for victory and team spirit is high. We are looking forward to our first match on Sunday against Tunisia.”
Monday brings Group C into focus, with reigning champions South Africa battling Ghana in Oujda, before Matchday 1 is completed with Mali v Tanzania in Berkane.
Banyana Banyana coach Dr Desire Ellis has been focused on the process of evolving her team into an even better unit than the one which triumphed in 2022.
“Our current preparations are very intentional and focused,” noted Ellis. “We’re not approaching this as defending champions looking to repeat – we’re approaching it as a team that wants to evolve and reach a higher level. Success can make teams complacent.”
WAFCON MATCHDAY 1 FIXTURES
Times CAT
Saturday 5 July
22:00: Morocco v Zambia
Sunday 6 July
16:00: Senegal v DR Congo
18:00: Nigeria v Tunisia
21:00: Algeria v Botswana
Monday 7 July
18:00: South Africa v Ghana
21:00: Mali v Tanzania