Defending champions Super Falcons of Nigeria will take on the Banyana Banyana of South Africa In their opening Group C game at the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, reports Completesports.com.
The two African heavyweights are drawn in Group C along with Botswana and Burundi.
The encounter is billed for July 4 at the
Prince Moulay Abdellah Sports Complex in Rabat.
The Super Falcons and South Africa faced off in the same group at the last edition of the competition in Ghana, with the Banyana Banyana winning by the odd goal.
Both teams again met in the final, which ended scoreless after regulation and extra time. The Super Falcons eventually triumphed 4-3 on penalties to win their ninth WAFCON title.
Read Also: WAFCON 2022: Super Falcons, South Africa, Burundi, Bostwana Drawn In Group C
South Africa however defeated Nigeria 4-2 the last time both teams met at the Aisha Buhari Invitational tournament at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Lagos in 2021.
The Super Falcons will face Botswana in their second group game on July 3, and then roundup their group stage campaign three days later against debutants Burundi.
Host nation Morocco will entertain Burkina Faso in the opening game of the tournament on
July 2, 2022 at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Sports Complex in Rabat.
Senegal and Uganda are the other teams in Group A.
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Cameroon head Group B where they tango with Zambia, Tunisia and Togo.
The complete schedule of the tournament was determined on Friday evening after the draw which took place in Rabat.
All the four semi finalists at the championship will represent Africa at the first –ever 32 –team FIFA Women’s World Cup finals, to be hosted by New Zealand and Australia in the summer of next year.
By Adeboye Amosu
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*Waldrum Remonstrates The Absence of Ivory Coast and Ghana From Wafcon*
Super Falcons Head Coach Randy Waldrum expressed my sentiment and that of many West African football observers by bemoaning the absence of heavyweights Ivory Coast and Ghana From yesterday’s draws for the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations fiesta set for Morocco in the summer.
In what was a banana skin and litmus test for the American gaffer, he had to navigate a herculean qualifying campaign that pitted the Super Falcons against behemoths Ghana and Ivory Coast.
Waldrum, against incredible odds, masterminded aggregate wins against both teams to be in the Wafcon with a realistic chance of qualifying for the Women’s World Cup next year in Australia and New Zealand.
In the draws for the Wafcon yesterday, Waldrum expressed exasperation at CAF’s dubious qualifying formula.
“It was unfortunate the way teams were matched up prior to Wafcon,” said the American.
“Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire both are worthy of being in the World Cup. Seems to me,CAF would want it’s best teams representing Africa,” the 64-year-old tactician sympathised on Cafonline.
However, taking positive from it from Nigeria’s perspective, Waldrum added:”Having said that, those games certainly helped our players in knowing what we are capable of, and re-emphasizing the strength of our team and the possibilities ahead.”
Around 2020, CAF introduced this controversial regional zoning formula that proves punitive to teams like Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast.
In the WAFU Under-20 and Under-17 tournaments to take place in May and June respectively, illustrious and formidable West African countries will have to knock themselves out before even qualifying for their respective Afcons which will ultimately serve as world cup qualifiers.
Nigeria and Ghana are the most successful youth teams in Africa. Yet they are in the same regional zone (and the same groups) in Wafu qualifiers.
If Randy Waldrum can see the absurdity and unfairness in this approach, I wonder why powerful CAF officials aren’t considering putting an end to such a draconian qualification formula.
Preaent CAF officials are not helping Africa to present the best teams at the world competitions with all these foolish qualification groupings.
**Waldrum: Nigeria Aims To Win The Group And Win The Wafcon**
Without mincing words, the Super Falcons flamboyant head coach Randy Waldrum has affirmed his intentions to power Nigeria to Wafcon victory on the way to making the Super Falcons a powerhouse in world football.
In a report I monitored on CAFonline, Waldrum issued the following statement:
“The first priority is obviously to qualify for the FIFA Women’s World Cup. That has always been the objective for us.
This means we must have success in the group stage. We always want and expect to win whenever we step on the field, so our goal also will be to win the women’s AFCON.
[To do this] we must remain focused and continue improving in some areas in order to become a world power which we are capable of achieving,” he concluded.
The Super Falcons are grouped with Botswana, Burundi and familiar foes South Africa
We will open our campaign against South Africa on July 4 at Prince Heritier Moulay El Hassan Stadium in Rabat and take on Botswana three days later. We will then wrap up the group phase against debutants Burundi on July 10.
Under Randy Waldrum, Nigeria has returned 7 wins, 2 draws and 5 losses. A number of those games have been against some of the best teams in women’s football including the USA, Canada and Portugal.
The Super Falcons’ style of play under Waldrum is characterised by pragmatism, compactness, resilience, focus and character.
They are yet to add eloquence, flamboyance and flair to their play. This, however, doesn’t seem to bother a bevy of fans so long as the Super Falcons are getting the job done.