WOMEN'S FOOTBALL
A stroll in the park for Super Falcons as road to WAFCON kicks-off today
Nigeria’s Super Falcons have strolled into the next round of the qualifying series for Women’s Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2024 which officially kick-off today.
Nigeria’s opponents, Sao Tome & Principe have pulled out as the qualifiers get underway. They now await the aggregate winners of Cape Verde and Liberia.
For the 2024 edition, 40 Nations will enter the qualifying stages. In the first qualifying round, teams will play two matches against each other. The winner of the two matches will qualify for the second round, scheduled for November 2023.
In this stage of the qualification phase, two countries will be exempted. They are South Africa and Zambia, respectively reigning African champions and bronze medallists.
Qualifiers Schedule
First Round: 20 – 26 September 2023
Second Round: 27 November – 05 December 2023
First-Round Fixtures
- 09.2023: Senegal – Mozambique | 17h00 GMT – Thies/Stade lat-Dior
- 09.2023: Egypt – South Sudan | 16h00 GMT – Petro Sports Stadium, Cairo
- 09.2023: Central African Republic – Mali | 13h00 GMT – Stade de la Reunification de Douala
- 09.2023: Guinea – Mauritius | 15h00 GMT – Stade General Lansana Conte, Nongo
- 09.2023: Nigeria – São Tomé and Príncipe (Match cancelled due to withdrawal of Soe Tome. Nigeria qualifies for next round)
- 09.2023: Cape Verde – Liberia | 17h00 GMT – Estadio Nacional “Blue Shark” Cabo Verde
- 09.2023: Uganda – Algeria | 15h00 GMT – FUFA Technical Centre, Jinja
- 09.2023: Burundi – Ethiopia | 14h00 GMT – Abebe Bekila Stadium, Addis Ababa
- 09.2023: Equatorial Guinea – Libya (Match cancelled due to withdrawal of Libya. Equatorial Guinea qualifies for the next round)
- 09.2023: DR Congo – Benin | 14h30 GMT – Complexe Omnisports Stade des Martyrs, Kinshasa
- 09.2023: Cote d’Ivoire – Tanzania | 15h30 GMT – Stade de Yamoussoukro, Yamoussoukro
- 09.2023: Djibouti – Togo | 14h30 GMT – Stade de Kegue de Lome, Lome
- 09.2023: Rwanda – Ghana | 13h00 GMT – Kigali Pele Stadium, Kigali
- 09.2023: Gambia – Namibia | 15h00 GMT Stade El Abdi, El Jadida
- 09.2023: Cameroon – Kenya | 18h00 GMT Stade de la Reunification de Douala, Douala
- 09.2023: Gabon – Botswana | 14h30 GMT – Stade de la Renovation de Franceville
- 09.2023: Tunisia – Niger | 15h00 GMT – Stade de Solimane, Solimane
- 09.2023: Guinea Bissau – Congo | 15h30 – Estadio 24 de Setembro, Bissau
- 09.2023: Angola – Sudan (Match cancelled due to withdrawal of Sudan. Angola qualifies for the next round)
- 09.2023 Eswatini – Burkina Faso | 14h00 GMT – Somhlolo National Stadium, Lobamba
Women’s AFCON Prize money:
| Position | Prize Money |
| Winner | USD 500 000 |
| Runner up | USD 300 000 |
| Semi-finalists (2) | USD 225 000 x 2 |
| Quarterfinalists (4) | USD 175 000 x 4 |
| 3rd of the group | USD 150 000 x 1 |
| 4th of the group (3) | USD 100 000 x 3 |
| TOTAL | USD 2 400 000 |
Despite wintry conditions in Blida, on the outskirts of the Algerian capital, Algiers, Nigeria’s U17 girls dug their feet into the ground on Friday night.
They achieved a scoreless draw that qualified them for this year’s FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup finals.
Holding on to a 4-0 first-leg advantage, the 2002 bronze medallists adopted a calm and collected pattern that easily soaked up the expected pressure from the hosts and then relied on fast breaks to try and pull the trigger on their opponents.
Although they created better chances on the night, the Flamingos failed to make dominance in possession pay, but swiftly collected the ticket to Morocco on a 4-0 aggregate win.
The difference over two legs of the final round was a remarkable display in the opening leg by the Flamingos, during which a brace by Queen Joseph and one each by Zainab Raji and substitute Aisha Animashaun ensured a 4-0 win.
The Flamingos will now be one of Africa’s five representatives (including hosts Morocco) at this year’s FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup finals taking place from 17th October – 5th November. The final competition will entertain 24 teams for the very first time.
Since the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup competition was launched in New Zealand in 2008, Nigeria have failed to make the finals only once – the 2018 tournament hosted by Uruguay.
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WOMEN'S FOOTBALL
Despite heavy first leg loss, Algeria hopeful of a turnaround in Nigeria’s Flamingos clash
The Algeria U17 women’s national team still hope for a possible turnaround in this Friday night clash with Nigeria’s Flamingos.
Algeria lost 4-0 in the first leg match in Ikenne last Saturday.
The Algerians completed their preparations on Thursday at the Sidi Moussa National Technical Centre, the eve of the return match against Nigeria.
The return match is scheduled for this Friday at 8 p.m. at the Mustapha Tchaker Stadium in Blida. Aggregate winners will pick a ticket to the FIFA U-17 Women’s 2025 World Cup.
According to sources in Algeria, all the players took part in the final session, during which coach Abdenour Mira finalised the tactical details for the make or mar encounter.
Despite the heavy defeat conceded in the first leg (4-0), the young Algerians approach this match with the desire to finish well and deliver an honourable performance against a formidable Nigerian team.
During the technical meeting held early in the afternoon at the FAF headquarters, in the presence of representatives of the two teams and the organisers, it was decided that Algeria will play in green, while Nigeria will wear white.
The match will be officiated by Cameroonian Aline Marie Noelle Guimbang, assisted by her compatriot Laurie Marcelle Tsafack Teikeu and Chadian Victorine Ngarassoum.
The fourth official will also be Cameroonian, Innoncentia Njang Ntangti.
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WOMEN'S FOOTBALL
Under possible cold weather in Blida, Nigeria’s Flamingos set to grab World Cup ticket
The weather is most likely to be cold, but Nigeria’s U17 girls, Flamingos, are set to continue a tradition of qualifying for every edition of the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup, which has had eight editions, out of which the Flamingos featured in seven.
Only Japan, with 100 per cent attendance, has featured in more competitions than Nigeria’s Flamingos.
They look poised to feature again after a 4-0 defeat of Algeria in the first leg of the final qualifying series.
Apart from their opponents, Algeria, they have the expected cold weather to battle with at the Stade Mustapha Tchaker in Blida (outside Algiers), on Friday night.
Friday’s encounter against their Algerian counterparts is the final leg of a final qualifying round fixture, with the Flamingos, bronze-medallists from the 2022 finals in India and quarterfinalists from the last edition in the Dominican Republic, holding on to a 4-0 first-leg advantage.
The Federation Algerienne de Football (FAF) has scheduled the match to kick off at 8 pm, at a time when the winds will begin to blow in stronger from the Mediterranean Sea.
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