WAFCON 2026: Why Nigeria Must Go To Morocco With Her Best Legs 

By Harry Awurumibe

With the FIFA Women’s World Cup Brazil 2027 ticket on the line, the defending champion Nigeria has all to play for  when the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) kicks off on July 25, 2026 in the North African country of Morocco. It will end on August 16.

Aside from playing to lift  the glittering Confederation of African Football (CAF) trophy, the 16 participating teams in the expanded competitions are to battle for the four automatic tickets to represent Africa in the biggest global women’s football tournament in Brazil next year.

For Nigeria to get one of the tickets to represent Africa in the FIFA Women’s World Cup finals in Brazil next year, the West Africans must at least reach the semi-final stage of the 14th edition of Africa’s premier women’s football tournament.

For this reason, Nigeria’s coach, Justine Madugu, has his work cut out for him as he is expected to replicate the achievement of last year by winning the WAFCON title back-to-back and also qualify Nigeria for the FIFA Women’s World Cup finals in Brazil in 2027.

Anything short of the two targets of retaining the WAFCON  trophy and getting FIFA Women’s World Cup ticket will be seen as a failure for the Adamawa-born football coach, who had severally served as assistant coach in multiple coaching roles across different WAFCON campaigns in  Equatorial Guinea 2012, Namibia 2014, Ghana 2018, Morocco 2022, and 2024 editions respectively.

However, the 62 year-old Bachama High Chief finally guided Nigeria back to the summit of African women’s football as the head coach last year in Morocco, two years after he was part of former Super Falcons’s American coach, Randy Waldrum’s disastrous WAFCON Set of 2022 in Morocco that finished in the 4th position to the disappointment of Nigerians.

Now, two years on the job as head coach and winning the WAFCON trophy in his first outing, Madugu is condemned to repeat the magic he did last time out or the success of the last edition will be described as a fluke.

But Madugu, who has confessed that WAFCON 2024 success has changed his life for the better, will make or mar Nigeria’s chances in the upcoming competition starting from his selection of players who would prosecute the tournament.

Luckily, the bulk of WAFCON 2024 players who delivered the 10th title are still very active, and the coach will not have any problems embarking on substitution of the few who are no longer relevant to the Super Falcons set up with younger players who have done well in the just concluded league season either in Nigeria or abroad.

For example, no fewer than 16 out 24 players registered by Nigeria in the last WAFCON are still playing regular football for clubs and country, while eight have question marks in their ability to represent Nigeria again in Morocco based on their individual performances in their various clubs either in Nigeria or overseas.

A closer look at the overall performance of some players in the WAFCON 2024 squad showed that Madugu has no reason to invite players who could not make the substitute bench or sat on the bench throughout the three weeks tournament.

They include the 23-year Nigerian-Malawian Chioma Okafor; 32 year-old Saudi Al-Ittihad forward Francisca Ordega; Edo Queens defender Miracle Usani; and two reserved goalkeepers namely 39 year-old Tochukwu Oluehi, who played last in Saudi Arabia in 2024 and Nasarawa Amazons’ Rachel Unachukwu, who were not used throughout the tournament.

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Yet, there are some first team players who are no longer performing at their peak and deserve to excuse themselves from the Super Falcons just as the 32 year-old American-born Ifeoma Chukwufumnaya Onumonu, OON, has done by retiring honourable from the Super Falcons immediately after WAFCON 2024.

Madugu’s 24-player Super Falcons squad WAFCON in Morocco should feature a blend of veterans, youth, and versatility as well as knowledge of the tournament environment.

This means that the Super Falcons coach should cast his net wide to fish out players who have done well in the just concluded women’s football league season in Nigeria and abroad.

In making his selection,  the Super Falcons gaffer  should borrow a leave from the coaches, who for tactical and technical reasons include players playing in the domestic league of the tournament host country.

For example, it will benefit the Nigerian team if Nigerian players who play in the Moroccan women’s football league like Super Falcons invitee, Ginika Ikeh of Sporting Club Chabab Mohammédia (SCCM) women in the Moroccan Botola Pro Féminine, a professional club based in Mohammedia, where the Nigeria’s senior women’s team will open camp on July 15, 2026.

With four preparatory matches, two games, each with the Indomitable Lionesses of Cameroon earlier this year in Yaounde and Teranga Lionesses of Senegal in Ikenne-Remo,  Madugu should not have any troubles to select a winning team for WAFCON 2026.

 *Nigeria’s WAFCON 2024 Squad List*

*Goalkeepers*:

Chiamaka Nnadozie

Tochukwu Oluehi

*Rachael Unachukwu*

*Defenders*:

Osinachi Ohale

Shukurat Oladipo

Michelle Alozie

Ashleigh Plumptre

Sikiratu Isah

Oluwatosin Demehin

*Miracle Usani*

n*Midfielders*:

Rasheedat Ajibade

Halimatu Ayinde

Deborah Abiodun

Jennifer Echegini

Toni Payne

Christy Ucheibe

*Forwards*:

-Francisca Ordega–

Chinwendu Ihezuo

*Ifeoma Onumonu*

Esther Okoronkwo

Omorinsola Babajide

Folashade Ijamilusi

*Chioma Okafor*

Asisat Oshoala.

Harry Awurumibe is a veteran women’s football journalist