African Women Go To War As 12th WAFCON Kicks off In Morocco Today

Twenty four years after the first-ever African Women’s Championship (AWC), the equivalent of the men’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), took place in Nigeria, a North African country Morocco which featured in the competition in 1998, will host the 12th edition of the expanded football fiesta. It will hold from today (Saturday, July 2 to 23, 2022).

Tagged WAFCON Morocco 2022, this edition will feature 12 countries namely Morocco, the host nation; Nigeria, the defending champions; South Africa, runners up of the last edition in Ghana in 2018 and Cameroon, the third placed team in Ghana 2018.

Others are Tunisia, Zambia, Senegal, Uganda and debutantes Togo, Burkina Faso, Burundi and Botswana respectively.

Unlike in the first edition in Nigeria where only seven countries participated after Mozambique withdrew from the competition at the last minute, all the qualifiers for 12th  WAFCON have arrived in Morocco ahead of the opening match between host, Morocco and newcomers, Burkina Faso on Saturday, July 2.

This will also be the second time Morocco will play the opening match in the 24-year old women’s football fiesta.

Prompt News can confirm that Nigeria and Morocco kicked off the maiden edition tagged Nigeria ’98 in the 8-0 whitewash of  Morocco’s Atlas Lionesses by the Super Falcons at Ranch Bees Stadium, Kaduna in October 17, 1998.

In the match, the Moroccans were far inferior to Head Coach Ismaila Mabo-tutored Super Falcons parading prolific goalscorers like Rita Nwadike who scored a hattrick in the tie and Mercy Akide-Udoh who emerged the highest goalscorer of the tournament.

Remarkably, the star-studded Nigeria team took the title in the first edition in an unbeaten run of five matches, scoring a remarkable 28 goals without conceding just as Super Falcons also defeated DR Congo 6-0 and Egypt 6-0 to top Group A with maximum 9 points.

Nigeria humiliated Cameroon 6-0 in the one-sided semi final match before hammering arch-rivals, Black Queens of Ghana  2-0 in the epic final held at Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abeokuta in Ogun state on Saturday, October 31, 1998. South Africa was the seventh country that took part in the maiden edition.

Since the 1998 triumph, Nigeria has gone ahead to win the highest African women’s football competition for an unprecedented nine times, excluding in 1991 and 1995 when Super Falcons beat all the teams in Africa to represent the continent at the FIFA Women’s World Cup final in China and Sweden in 1991 and 1995 respectively.

Aside in 1998, Nigeria won in 2000, 2002, 2004 and 2006 even as Equatorial Guinea hosted and won in 2008; Nigeria won again in 2010 and

Equatorial Guinea won it back in 2012.

But Nigeria returned to winning ways in 2014, 2016 and 2018 respectively to hold an unprecedented record of the most wins, since the introduction of the competition which its idea was actually conceived by a young “restless” Nigerian  sports journalist with much interest in the promotion of women’s football in Africa, Comrade Harry Awurumibe, who sold the idea to then Secretary General of the Nigeria Football Association (NFA), Malam Ahmed Sani Toro in Lagos in early 1998.

Malam Toro was to escalate it to the notice of Colonel Abdulmumini Aminu (Rtd), then Chairman of NFA 1996 to 1999 who also approved of it and took the matter to ex- Director General of Federal Ministry of Youth & Sports, Alhaji Babayo Shehu and ex-Director of Sports Development, Dr. Amos Adamu who was at the period CAF Executive Committee Member.

With late Minister of Youth & Sports, Air Commodore Sampson Emeka Omeruah (Rtd) welcoming the idea of Nigeria hosting an international competition at time the country was banned by CAF for withdrawing from 1996 AFCON in South Africa, he led  the above mentioned men to the Presidential Villa, Abuja to convince late Head of State, General Sani Abacha to support the idea of hosting the first AWC in 1998 for the Good of Women’s Football in Africa.

Interestingly, General Abacha gave his approval and his wife (First Lady) donated the first trophy named after her as the wisemen approached CAF under the former  long-serving  President, Alhaji Issah Hayatou and the rest is now history.

This is even as Nigeria won the first trophy donated by the country’s former First Lady, Mrs. Maryam Sani-Abacha for keeps in 2002 on home soil, and had gone ahead to win the second cup presented by CAF for keeps too.

It is expected that CAF will present a new brand cup to the winner of the 12th edition on Saturday, July 23, 2022 as Nigeria has retired the existing trophy after winning it in 2014, 2016 and 2018.

Morocco 2022 will be different in many ways. For example, it will be the first time 12 teams will compete in the tournament, a situation which will give millions of women’s football followers across the continent to watch more matches.

The growth of the beautiful game in Africa has risen so much that  many African women footballers are now earning big money by playing club football in major European, American and Asian football leagues.

The African exports to the world includes FC Barcelona femini star and reigning African Best Footballer of the Year, Asisat Oshoala (Nigeria); Houston Dash Michelle Alozie (Nigeria) and goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie of Paris FC (Nigeria) as well Morocans-Elchad Nesryne of AS Saint-Etienne of France and Salma Amani of US Saint-Malo of France. Others are Thembi Kagtlana of South Africa; Barbara Banda of Zambia; Ajara Njoya of Cameroun and Mama Diop of Senegal.

This game has evolved in the world nay Africa and the pioneers of women’s football in Africa should be proud of the foundation they have laid especially the early club sponsors, coaches , players, promoters, administrators and fans who gave life to women’s football in Africa. It goes without saying that one day, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) will do the needful by giving honor to whom honor is do.

Let the party start and may the best national women’s football team win.

Go Girls !

Harry Awurumibe is Africa’s No.1 Women’s Football Journalist