The race towards African Women Football showpiece, Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco in 2022 starts this weekend. The Gambia national women’s football team is paired with Sierra Leone in the first round of the qualifiers with the first leg in Freetown on September 18 and the return leg in Banjul on September 26 .
Some 21 other pairs will also be in action at the same time.
Morocco, the host country of the final tournament who automatically qualified as hosts. It will be the first edition organized under the format of 12 teams. Ahead of the first leg the Gambia team has started training at the technical training center in Yundum. The Gambia’s male national team has qualified for the Afcon for the first time in history and the country’s football authorities want the same status for the female team too. The first round winner between Gambia and Sierra Leone will meet Cameroon or Central African Republic CAR in the second round where 22 teams would be paired to produce 11 winners who would join host Morocco in the tournament. The Gambian team is expected to fly out today Thursday.
Full first round fixtures:
M1 – Uganda v Ethiopia
M2 – Kenya v South Sudan
M3 – Eritrea v Burundi
M4 – Djibouti v Rwanda
M5 – Malawi v Zambia
M6 – Tanzania v Namibia
M7 – Zimbabwe v Eswatini
M8 – Angola v Botswana
M9 – Mozambique v South Africa
M10 – Algeria v Sudan
M11 – Egypt v Tunisia
M12 – Equatorial Guinea v DR Congo
M13 – Sao Tome and Principe v Togo
M14 – Congo v Gabon
M15 – Central African Republic v Cameroon
M16 – Sierra Leone v Gambia
M17 – Liberia v Senegal
M18 – Mali v Guinea
M19 – Guinea Bissau v Mauritania
M20 – Burkina Faso v Benin
M21 – Nigeria v Ghana
M22 – Niger v Cote d’Ivoire
Second Round
Winner M1 v Winner M2
Winner M3 v Winner M4
Winner M5 v Winner M6
Winner M7 v Winner M8
Winner M9 v Winner M10
Winner M11 v Winner M12
Winner M13 v Winner M14
Winner M15 v Winner M16
Winner M17 v Winner M18
Winner M19 v Winner M20
Winner M21 v Winner M22
Aggregate winners qualify to join hosts Morocco in the final tournament.
