If the members of the Confederation of African Football’s Technical Study Group have their way, the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations will be expanded further.
The tournament had eight teams until the current edition in Morocco, which was made up of 12 teams from the beginning on July 2.
However, the TSG has recommended that more teams should be added in subsequent editions to make it a 16-team tournament.
The TSG members argue that the increase of teams from eight to 12 has helped raise the level and standard of the tournament, and adding four more teams will bring more positive developments.
TSG members Clémentine Touré from Côte d’Ivoire, Mercy Tagoe from Ghana and Jacqui Shipanga from Namibia made this recommendation when evaluating the ongoing WAFCON in Morocco.
All three insisted that the Morocco 2022 WAFCON has been the best edition of the tournament to date at organisational level, and in terms of the level of the quality of football played.
Tagoe said CAF’s decision to increase the number of participating team from eight to 12 ‘made it possible to raise the level of competition’.
“We have seen the level of this edition. The level will be even higher if we have more nations,” Tagoe told a press conference in Rabat yesterday. “We are 54 federations in Africa, so it would be wise to have more selections at WAFCON.”
Shipanga praised the level of commitment from all participating countries and highlighted the Morocco versus Nigeria semi-final as her standout match of the competition so far.
The hosts beat the Super Falcons on penalties after the defending champions held on for over 50 minutes with nine women following red cards to Halimat Ayinde and Rasheedat Ajibade.
Shipanga also noted that the teams who played as a strong unit were the ones who progressed furthest in the competition.
“Football is above all a collective game. We can mention teams such as Morocco, Zambia and South Africa, who played well with strong combinations and a collective game plan,” she asserted.
“You also have to work, plan and invest. When we see what Morocco has invested in the development of women’s football, we now understand the results they have achieved in this competition.”
The TSG also explained their selection criteria for the “Woman of the match” awards handed out at each of the matches played in this WAFCON.
They said several criteria come into play. There are the technical and tactical qualities, but also the attitude of the player during the match, the impact she has on her squad and also her sense of sportsmanship and fair play.
The TSG members were happy with the level of football played by the four countries who have already qualified for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup (Nigeria, Zambia, South Africa and Morocco) but advised them to prepare well for the global tournament.
