June 30, (THEWILL) – The Africa Women’s Cup of Nations (AWCON), which begins on Saturday in Morocco, will feature the Super Falcons competing for World Cup spots, with tickets to the 2023 Mondial in Australia and New Zealand assured for the top four finishers.
Nigeria’s monopolistic status in the women’s game on the continent once again faces competition at the Moroccan tournament, which is being held in Casablanca and Rabat and continues until July 23, as the field has been enlarged to accommodate 12 teams. The Super Falcons have won 11 of the previous 13 African women’s championships and have participated in all eight previous World Cups.
However, this year they will have tough competition from Cameroon, South Africa, and Zambia, among others. On Monday, July 4, in Rabat, Nigeria and South Africa play in a group matchup that could determine how the competition turns out with teams eyeing qualification for the World Cup.
THEWILL recalls that Africa previously had only three spots for the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France, but now has four automatic spots and the option to earn two more through a projected 10-team playoff event with the 2023 tournament’s field enlarged to involve 32 teams.
The two teams that finish fifth and sixth at the end of AWCON will compete in the World Cup qualifying playoff competition with the playoff matches to determine the four semi finalists who will advance to the World Cup alongside those who qualify through the continental competition.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
