WAFCON : 2 Other Important Countries Withdraw From Qualifiers

At least three countries have withdrawn from the ongoing CAF organised Women’s African Cup Of Nations WAFCON qualifiers npflupdates.com reports.

Also read: Rivers United Needs To Rise Up To The Occasion For Successful Fans – Eguma

Few days ago, it was reported in the media that WAFCON qualifier opponent of Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe’s women have withdrawn from the tournament. Reasons for their withdrawal wasn’t officially made public to the press.

And the qualifiers which was supposed to start today, had seen two more teams withdraw from the exercise.

For the 2024 edition, 40 Nations will enter the qualifying stages. And in the first qualifying round, teams will play two matches against each other. With the winner of the two matches qualifying for the second round, scheduled for November 2023.

In this stage of the qualification phase, two countries will be exempted. The countries are South Africa and Zambia, who are the reigning African champions and bronze medallists respectively.

Sudan, Libya and Sao Tome withdraw from WAFCON qualifiers

From what was gathered from CAF official website, Sudan and Libya have also withdrawn from the qualifiers exercise.

Also read: Rivers United Needs To Rise Up To The Occasion For Successful Fans – Eguma

Qualifiers Schedule

First Round: 20 – 26 September 2023

Second Round: 27 November – 05 December 2023

First-Round WAFCON Qualifier Fixtures Are The Following

1. 22.09.2023: Senegal – Mozambique | 17h00 GMT – Thies/Stade lat-Dior
2. 20.09.2023: Egypt – South Sudan | 16h00 GMT – Petro Sports Stadium, Cairo
3. 22.09.2023: Central African Republic – Mali | 13h00 GMT – Stade de la Reunification de Douala
4. 21.09.2023: Guinea – Mauritius | 15h00 GMT – Stade General Lansana Conte, Nongo
5. 22.09.2023: Nigeria – São Tomé and Príncipe (Match cancelled due to withdrawal of  Soe Tome. Nigeria qualifies for next round)
6. 22.09.2023: Cape Verde – Liberia | 17h00 GMT – Estadio Nacional “Blue Shark” Cabo Verde
7. 20.09.2023: Uganda – Algeria | 15h00 GMT – FUFA Technical Centre, Jinja
8. 22.09.2023: Burundi – Ethiopia | 14h00 GMT – Abebe Bekila Stadium, Addis Ababa
9. 22.09.2023: Equatorial Guinea – Libya (Match cancelled due to withdrawal of Libya. Equatorial Guinea qualifies for the next round)
10. 22.09.2023: DR Congo – Benin | 14h30 GMT – Complexe Omnisports Stade des Martyrs, Kinshasa
11. 22.09.2023: Cote d’Ivoire – Tanzania | 15h30 GMT – Stade de Yamoussoukro, Yamoussoukro
12. 22.09.2023: Djibouti – Togo | 14h30 GMT – Stade de Kegue de Lome, Lome
13. 20.09.2023: Rwanda – Ghana | 13h00 GMT – Kigali Pele Stadium, Kigali
14. 21.09.2023: Gambia – Namibia | 15h00 GMT Stade El Abdi, El Jadida
15. 22.09.2023: Cameroon – Kenya | 18h00 GMT Stade de la Reunification de Douala, Douala
16. 22.09.2023: Gabon – Botswana |  14h30 GMT – Stade de la Renovation de Franceville
17. 21.09.2023: Tunisia – Niger | 15h00 GMT – Stade de Solimane, Solimane
18. 21.09.2023: Guinea Bissau – Congo | 15h30 –  Estadio 24 de Setembro, Bissau
19. 25.09.2023: Angola – Sudan (Match cancelled due to withdrawal of Sudan. Angola qualifies for the next round)
20. 20.09.2023 Eswatini – Burkina Faso | 14h00 GMT – Somhlolo National Stadium, Lobamba

It is important to note that TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations Morocco WAFCON, 2024 achieved massive growth.

Also read: AFCONQ: Nigeria Drags Guinea To CAF

The tournament witnessed a record crowd stadium attendances; and unprecedented TV audiences. Of course, this is a clear demonstration that women’s football in Africa is on the ascendance.