The African Women Championship is already in view, not so many people are aware of the tournament, so I felt a platform like this serves an avenue to bring stuffs like this to the fore. The competition is the equivalent of African Nations Cup played by men. It's quite unfortunate that women football do not get the attention the male football gets, and this whittles down the intensity that should have come with Women football Tournaments. This is an interesting tournament not to miss, as you will see eight teams battle for the crown and also the pride.
The Last three teams, that is, the teams that emerges first, second and third positions in the next month's tournament, qualifies automatically for the next edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup. The Ghanaian black queens had an automatic qualification because they are they are the host nation, leaving the remaining seven slots for other teams to fight for.
On the build up to this tournament, Equatorial Guinea had initially suffered a ban, that was meant to bar them from participating in Africa Women Nations Cup 2018 in Ghana, however they later got reinstatement after the ban was lifted at a CAF emergency committee meeting earlier in July.
They were later included in the the qualifying draw, however, they also incurred a ban from the Football governing body FIFA from qualifying for the 2019 Women's World Cup irrespective of their performance in the Africa Women Nations Cup(they didn't qualify though). The reason why they got the ban was because they fielded an ineligible player in one of their qualifying games against Kenya. Since the inception of the tournament, only Equatorial Guinea has been able to win the tournament alongside Nigeria. Guinea won the 2008 and 2012 editions, while Nigeria has won every other edition.
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The Draw Has Been Done.
The Eight teams that qualified for the tournament knew their fate on the 21st of October which was on Sunday, as the draw to determine their group and their opponents in the group was made. The event which took place at the Plush Movenpick Ambassador Hotel at 19:00 GMT activated proper preparations for the two weeks tournament which will be holding from November 17 to December 1. The tension is already in the air, and soon teams will start arriving Gold Coast for the duel.
It promises to be an interesting tournament for the ladies, as they lock horns in Ghana. The super Falcons of Nigeria who have remained the tournament's favorite for years now, will be kicking off their campaign to defend their continental championship against South Africa. The last edition had seen Nigeria claim the trophy after beating the host Cameroon 1-0 in the finals, at Stade Ahmodou Ahidjo Yaoundé.
The Black queens of Ghana who an automatic slot in the tournament will be looking forward to make their mark in their home soil. Ghana has never won the trophy before, and the coach has hinted on their readiness to break the jinx this time around, as they will not be leaving any stone unturned.
"We are not keen on avoiding anyone, The focus is to win and get to the final and claim the title and that means being prepared for anyone.
"If we avoid a team at the group stage, we could still meet in the next round. Rather, my focus now is how to get my team completely ready for the challenge. If we are drawn against perceived [minnows] but we don’t get our preparations right, we can't realise our dreams" Ghana coach Bashir Hayford told Daily Graphic.
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The Eight Teams That Qualified
Group A
Ghana: The Ghanaian Female National football team is nicknamed "Black Queens." They have had their own share of the tournament heartbreaks in previous editions. They emerged runners-up in 1998, 2002 and 2006. It's the first time they are hosting the tournament since it's inception, and Steven Appiah believes the ladies are ready to go all the way to the trophy this time around.
Algeria: The Algerian National Women Football team is another underdog in the tournament. Their previous encounters in the competition haven't been that glorious. There have made only four appearances since the history of the tournament, and have all been kicked out from the group stage. That was in 2004, 2006, 2010 and 2014. They will be looking forward to find their spark and cause some upsets, watch out for them.
Mali: The Malian National Female football team is nicknamed "les Aiglonnes," which means "The Female Eagles." They have made six appearances in the competition since its inception, and have all been thrown out at the group stages. Their first appearance was in 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010 and then 2016. They are far from being the favorites, however, they will set their claws to work if underrated.
Cameroon: The Cameroonian team have suffered a lot of heart breaks since the inception of the tournament in 1991. They have been runners-up in 1991, 2004, 2014 and the last edition in 2016 which they hosted and lost 1-0 to Nigeria. This time, I doubt if they are ready to joke with any body, as their eyes is fixed in the trophy.
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Group B
Nigeria: The Nigerian Female National football team is referred to as the "Super Falcons." They come into this tournament as the defending champions and also as favorites. The Nigerian contingents have dominated the continental game for decades now, and have won Eight out of the entire Ten editions. Perpetua Nkwocha remains the top goal scorer in the female category, 80 goals to her name. So watch out for the Super Falcons in Ghana 2018, as they remain a force to reckon with in the Continent.
South Africa: The South African National Female football team is nicknamed "Bayana Bayana." The team is ready to gun for the trophy this Time around, as they came fourth in the last edition that was hosted by Cameroon in 2016. However, they are not unaware of what awaits them in the group stage, as they will need to scale the hurdles of rubbing shoulders with teams like Nigeria, Zambia and Kenya in Group B.
Kenya: Many assume the Kenyan Team to be a mere feasting meat for the bigger ladies in the group. They can't really boast of having played many times in the previous editions, since they've made only one appearance which was in 2016. They are nicknamed the "Harambee Starlets", and their coming into the tournament unfazed by their big opponents.
Zambia: The Zambian Female National football team is nicknamed "She-polopolo." Though they are one of the underdogs in this tournament, they are ready to surprise any team that will come against them with complacency. Their first appearance in The African Women's Nations cup was is 1995, and they went as far as the quarterfinals. It's gonna be a tough challenge for them, as they will have to go through Nigeria and South Africa to keep their dreams alive.
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