NEWS
A selection of FirstTouch's best football writing, brought to you by emerging journalists, collaborators, and fans.
2019 AWCON: Falcons regain momentum as EG succumb to another humiliating defeat
Super Falcons are finally in flight, while home might be calling for Nzalanga Nacional of Equatorial Guinea. Catch the latest news from the 2018 Africa Women’s Cup of Nations underway in Ghana.
Ever since the Falcons were defeated by South Africa in their opening match last Sunday, many began to scrutinize the team’s chances of retaining the AWCON title. After the upset, the 10-time champions were on a mission to remove any doubt amongst fans of their championship form and ability. On Wednesday night they did just that as they subjected the She-polopolo of Zambia to a brutal 4-0 defeat. The win was a reminder to fans and spectators of the game why they deserve to be called the best team on the continent.
The Nigerians dominated the game scoring the first goal in the first half and packing the last three goals into the second half. Despite the dominance of the Nigerians, the She-polopolo defence proved difficult for the Falcons in the early stages of the game. Eventually, the Nigerians established their lead in the 42nd minute thanks to the precision of En Avant de Guingamp striker, Desire Oparanozie.
The Super Falcons built on the momentum of the 1-0 lead in the second half with Francisca Ordega, Rasheedat Ajibade and Amarachi Okoronkwo all scoring in the second half to secure the much needed win for the defending champions.
Zambia had started the tournament with a very convincing 5-0 win against Equatorial Guinea while Nigeria suffered a disappointing 1-0 loss to their Southern African rivals, Banyana Banyana. Both teams need to secure a win in their final group stages match on Saturday to qualify for the semi-finals.
Meanwhile in the second match of the day, Group B counterparts South Africa put one foot in the semi finals as they pulled out a great performance against Equatorial Guinea to win the match 7-1.
Banyana Banyana showed their skill and solid tactical advantage over the two-time AWCON champions throughout the match. The opener came in the form of a penalty which was awarded when defender Dorine Chuigoue was sanctioned for a handball inside her penalty area. Houston Dash forward, Linda Motlhalo was given the responsibility of taking the penalty and she did so with ease, giving South Africa 1-0 lead in the 20th minute of the game.
Thembi Kgatlana pulled out two assists and a brace against Nzalang Nacional. The goal scorer in opening match against Nigeria reinforced why she is a crucial part of the South African attack and for Houston Dash in the National Women's Soccer League. She is laying up quite a claim for being the 2018 Africa Women’s Cup of Nations if you ask me.
Amanda Mthandi and Jermaine Seoposenwe also added their names to the score board minutes before the final whistle to bring to a close the amazing collective performance from the South Africans. Desiree Ellis’ team will look to maintain the brilliant form through to the semi finals where they will have a real chance of being crowned the champions at the 11th edition of the Africa Women’s Cup of Nations, for what would be the first time-ever.
South Africa’s next match up will be against their Southern African comrades the She-polopolo while Nigeria are strong favorites heading into the Equatorial Guinea match.
What you need to know about the Women's AFCON 2018
The 2018 Total Women’s African Cup of Nations is almost here. Here is all you need to know about the tournament and take a peek on who are the eight finalists vying for the prize.
Do you miss the World Cup or probably wish there were many more varied football matches to look out for other than just the acclaimed European football leagues or the less followed but equally entertaining domestic leagues on the African continent? If you are really eager for something new and more so run by women, 2018 is your year. The much-celebrated women of Africa who have literally borne the continent will take it to the pitch and remind everyone, who the bosses are.
Brief History
The women’s Africa Cup of Nations officially named the Total Women’s Africa Cup of Nations. by reason of CAF’s running ten-year sponsorship deal with Total, was first contested in 1991. The biennial tournament pits eight national teams in the finals after a series of preliminary qualifying rounds. The most successful team in the tourney are the Super Falcons of Nigeria with a record ten titles followed by Equatorial Guinea with two. In fact, no other team has won the prize besides these two.
Current Champions
You would have probably guessed that it's Nigeria. The Super Falcons have been unrelenting in their journey of total dominance over the years. If you have been the follower of the tournament you must remember the legendary Perpetua Ijeoma Nkowcha. Perpetua won five of the seven AFCON tournaments in the Falcons colors. She is a deadly assailant in front of goal with 80 goals in 99 caps for Nigeria. They won the 2016 campaign in Cameroon after defeating the hosts, 1-0 in the final. Let it be known, women’s football on the continent is just getting better and better, one would be brave to fancy Nigeria to continue this dominance in the foreseeable future.
Where and When?
Ghana will be hosting the 2018 Total Women’s Africa Cup of Nations from the 17th of November to the 1st of December. The tournament is scheduled to run in two cities namely Accra and Cape Coast. There were media reports flying around suggesting that the West African nation may be stripped of its rights to host the tourney but the final verdict will be known after CAF’s Executive meeting to be held between 27-28 September 2018.
Who will be participating in the finals?
The eight teams fighting for the coveted prize are as follows:
The Black Queens of Ghana (hosts)
The Super Falcons of Nigeria
The She-polopolo of Zambia
Banyana Banyana of South Africa
Nzalang Nacional of Equatorial Guinea
The Indomitable Lionesses of Cameroon
The Fennecs of Algeria
The Female Eagles of Mali
These eight will be placed in two groups of four, with the first two teams from each group advancing to the semi-finals.
Players to look out for in the qualifiers
African Women’s Footballer of the Year award winner for the years 2014, 2016 and 2017, Nigeria’s Asisat Oshoala will be on show again this year. The 23-year-old ran away with the player of the tournament in 2016 and would most certainly be a key ingredient in the Falcons’ proposed title defence. Oshoala is currently enjoying life in China bagging the 2017 Chinese Women’s Super League Top goalscorer award, a much needed breath of fresh air after less ideal career at Liverpool and Arsenal ladies. Here is a full list of the guns to watch out for.
Women’s AFCON Fun-Fact
The top three teams from the AFCON finals like the one in November, secure qualification for the FIFA Women’s World Cup. This year in particular, should Equatorial Guinea be in the top three, the fourth team gets the spot by virtue of the central African country serving a ban imposed by FIFA
2018 Africa Women Cup of Nations : Zimbabwe readies preparations for Zambia clash
Mighty Warriors Legend and coach, Sithelelwe Sibanda hopes ZIFA will cooperate to speed up the Zimbabwe team’s preparations for the 2018 Africa Women Cup of Nations final qualifier against Zambia.
The final qualifying round for the 2018 Women’s AFCON to be held in Ghana from November to December is almost here. Despite all their challenges on late or nonpayment of salaries by the nation’s football body (ZIFA), the Mighty Warriors of Zimbabwe are determined to put a good show when they face arch-rivals Zambia for a spot at the finals. The Mighty Warriors coach, Sithelelwe “Kwinji15” Sibanda hopes that ZIFA will come through quickly to get their preparations underway for the two-legged tie scheduled between June 4 and June 9, 2018. Kwinji15 has also underlined the importance to play a few friendly matches to get her players into the competitive mode since the country does not have a local women’s football league. Zimbabwe eliminated Namibia, 4-0 on aggregate to set up a date with Zambia who proceeds ahead of Tanzania after an aggregate score of 4-4 because of the away goals rule.
"Qualifying for the next round means tougher matches. Zambia are taking this game seriously and they have just resumed camp up to the time we play them. Hopefully, the office (ZIFA) should get something so that we start preparing . . . we just hope they organise something soon. As always all coaches want better preparations for their team.It's always ideal to get friendly matches especially when you don't have a proper league running. At the end it will always be ideal to have, at least, a longer camp, so that we can even play local friendlies and try out some combinations. It's not the best but that's the least we can do." - Kwinji 15, Zimbabwe Senior Women’s Soccer Team Coach
The last time these two teams met was at this very stage of the 2016 tournament which was won by Zimbabwe. Zambia also got their victory over the neighbors in 2014 to qualify for the Namibia tournament.
Who will emerge victoriously and book a spot at the 2018 finals?
2018 Africa Women’s Cup of Nations Qualifiers: Kenya draws first blood at home against Uganda
Kenya down Uganda in the opener
The qualifiers for this year’s continental showpiece of women football kicked off in Machakos, Kenya on Wednesday. Lilian Adera’s 53rd-minute strike was enough to secure a one-goal advantage for the Harambee Starlets over the Crested Cranes ahead of the second leg to be played this Sunday at Star Times Stadium, Kampala.
The right-back, Adera, curled in a beautiful cross into the box which flicked past Crested Cranes’ goalkeeper, Ruth Aturo. The overall winner of this tie will face Equatorial Guinea in the final qualification stage with a victory guaranteeing a spot at the finals to be held in Ghana from 17 November to the 1st of December 2018.
In other fixtures, Ethiopia thrashed Libya 8-0 away from home in a first leg match and Tanzania drew 3-3 with Zambia.
All the qualification matches and results are listed below:
4 April: Senegal v Algeria
10 April: Algeria v Senegal
FT: Libya 0 Ethiopia 8
10 April: Ethiopia v Libya
4 April: Congo v Central African Republic
10 April: Central African Republic v Congo
FT: Kenya 1 Uganda 0
8 April: Uganda v Kenya
FT: Tanzania 3 Zambia 3
10 April: Zambia v Tanzania
5 April: Namibia v Zimbabwe
TBC: Zimbabwe v Namibia
6 April: Morocco v Ivory Coast
TBC: Ivory Coast v Morocco
7 April: Sierra Leone v Mali
10 April: Mali v Sierra Leone
7 April: Burkina Faso v Gambia
10 April: Gambia v Burkina Faso
6 April: Lesotho v Swaziland
TBC: Swaziland v Lesotho
Women’s African cup of Nations: Ghana gives the tournament a USD $8 million boost
A new chapter for African Women's football as Ghana step up big
During the launch of the Women’s African Cup of Nations tournament in Accra on Friday, the Minister of Youth and Sports, Isaac Asiamah revealed that the government has approved eight million dollars to be channeled towards a successful delivery of the games.
The honorable minister praised the Local Organizing community and the women world in their relentless efforts to deliver a world-class football tournament in the West African nation. He has also highlighted that the facilities will be ready to hosts all the eight visiting nations and assured the nation that preparations were underway to ensure the Black Queens of Ghana have a strong campaign and perhaps win the top prize.
"The women have demonstrated that they could sometimes do better than men as far as organization of such tournaments are concerned. They are ensuring that Ghana emerges as one of the best destinations for hosting football in the world." - Isaac Asiamah, Ghana’s Minister of Youth and Sports
The first and second ladies of the country, Rebecca Akufo-Addo, and Samira Bawumia are also on board to renovate some facilities for the tournament.
Zimbabwe: Senior women’s team coach appeals for support
"I think the whole thing is about sponsorship"
Head coach, Sithethelelwe “Kwinji 15” Sibanda has made a familiar cry surrounding the exploits of the Mighty Warriors camp. Kwinji 15 who is a former Zimbabwean international has called upon the corporate world and any willing hearts to lend a hand as they prepare to tackle Namibia on April 5 for a place in the Women’s African Cup of Nations scheduled for November 2018 in Ghana. In particular, the Mighty Warriors mentor mentioned the lack of competitive matches in the form of international friendlies or a challenge-free domestic league as the main pain points before revealing that all the issues stem out of underinvestment into the women’s game.
"I think the whole thing is about sponsorship. My plea really is if there are any companies out there who can put their money in women football, it can go a long way in helping our girls. So that at least our national league is kept going." - Sithethelelwe Sibanda
Mighty Warriors enjoyed a fruitful 2016 that saw them qualify for the Rio Olympic games as well as the African Women Cup of Nations (AWCON) finals in Yaounde, Cameroon.