Field complete for 2024 Paris Olympics Women’s  Football Tournament Qualifiers final round 

**As Morocco, Zambia join Nigeria, S/Africa for tickets race

By Harry Awurumibe, Africa’s No.1 Women Football Journalist

The four-team field for the 2024 CAF Women’s Olympic Football Tournament Qualifiers is now complete following the qualification of Morocco and Zambia alongside Nigeria and South Africa for the final round of the qualifiers to pick two African representatives in Paris 2024 Olympics in France in the summer.

Morocco was ruthless yesterday as the Atlas Lionesses thrashed Tunisia senior women’s football team 4-1 at Moulay Hassan Stadium in Rabat in the return leg of the double-header to qualify for the final round on 6-2 aggregate. Morocco won the first leg tie in Tunis 2-1 last week.

Lionesses forward Ibtissam Jraïdi scored a hat-trick while enterprising Fatma Tagnaout completed the coup d’ gracè at home turf on Wednesday. Tagnaout who also scored away in Soliman, Tunisia opened scores in the 11′ but it was Jraïdi who went goal-crazy by scoring in the 16′, 20′ and  22′ to send fans at the stadium in Rabat to wide jubilation. Tunisia’s Akrami Zemzem reduced the tally in the 58′.

Also Zambia’s Copper Queens edged out hard-fighting Black Queens of Ghana 4-3 on aggregate after Esther Banda’s last gasp goal prevented the return leg match at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola from going into penalty shoot-out as both  tied 3-3 on the night.

Zambia won the first leg 1-0 away in Accra courtesy of Racheal Kundananji’s 18′ strike and had raced to early lead when Banda opened score in the 10′ before Gifty Assifuah equalized in the 22′ and Doris Boaduwaa put Ghana ahead in the 55′, although  Assifuah unfortunately scored own goal in the 61′.

Ghana’s Azumah Bugre scored what would have been a  winning goal in the 64′ to drag the match to penalty shoot-out but Zambia’s forward Banda levelled the scores at 3-3 in the 90+6′ to record her brace in the encounter to stop Ghana from progressing further in the race for tickets to Paris.

Earlier, Nigeria beat arch-rivals Indomitable Lionesses of Cameroon 1-0, thanks to Esther Okoronkwo’s 15′ goal at Moshood Abiola National Stadium Abuja on Monday to qualify on 1-0 aggregate while reigning African champions, South Africa’s Banyana Banyana defeated Tanzania 1-0 at Mbombela on Tuesday to qualify for the final round on 4-0 aggregate.

Already, CAF has fixed the window of April 1 to 9, 2024 for the home and away double-header which has pitched Nigeria against South Africa while

Zambia will do battle against Morocco within the same window. The two winners over two legs of matches will represent Africa in Paris Olympics.

*2024 CAF Women’s Olympic Football Tournament Qualifiers Final Fixtures*

*April 1, 2024

-Nigeria v South Africa in Abuja

*April 9,  2024

-South Africa v Nigeria in

Mbombela

The Women’s Olympic Football Tournament Qualifiers will be the sixth edition of the CAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament, the quadrennial international football competition organised by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to determine which women’s national teams from Africa qualify for the Olympic football tournament.