A Year After Its Original Schedule, WAFCON 2024 is Set to Bring the Best of African Women’s Football

Better financial rewards and new silverware

This year's edition also comes with a handful of notable improvements that show an increasing commitment to elevating women's football on the continent by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). Before the 2022 edition, CAF announced a 150 percent increase in the prize fund as an investment in the advancement of African women's football. This year's WAFCON also sees asubstantial increase in the prize fund, a 45 percent raise that puts the total amount at nearly $3.5 million.

The winning prize has been increased by 100 percent; this year's winning team will walk away with $1 million, while the runners-up and third-place teams will receive $500,000 and $350,000, respectively. All participating teams have been allotted amounts from the prize fund, the least amount being $125,000 to the three teams that place fourth after the group stage.

Earlier this week, CAFunveiled a stunning new WAFCON trophy. With a design rooted in symbolism and purpose, the new trophy features stunning details like identical petals spiraling upwards to form a blooming flower, which represents each participating team and the growth of African women's football through the vibrant strength of its athletes. The trophy also features a golden football-patterned sphere on top, adorned with the map of Africa, and a silver and matte gold body, with a base crafted with white marble.

"When I started, we played to exist. Today, young people play to win," former South African women's football team captain, Amanda Dlamini,said. "This trophy is the symbol of this transition. The dream continues, but it is now within reach."

Morocco returns as host

In recent years, Morocco has emerged as a powerhouse in African football, on and off the pitch. This will be the second consecutive time Morocco will be hosting WAFCON, and it is also scheduled to host the next edition. That's in addition to hosting the men's AFCON in December and co-hosting the 2030 World Cup with Spain and Portugal.

At the 2022 WAFCON, over 60,000 people attended the final match between the host and eventual champions, South Africa, at the Stade Moulay Abdellah in Rabat. Those crowd levels will be impossible to replicate this time around, as games will be played on smaller-capacity pitches in Rabat and Casablanca. All three big stadiums used last time are being renovated ahead of the men's AFCON.

Six stadiums across five Moroccan citieswill host matches this year, with Mohammedia, Oujda, and Berkane joining Rabat and Casablanca as host cities. Despite theuncertainties surrounding the schedule of this WAFCON edition, postponed due to Nigeria and Zambia's participation at the summer Olympics in Paris last year, Morocco's readiness mirrors its commitment to investing in the growth of its women's football structure, and the results are apparent.

A strong cast of contenders

Before reaching the final of the last WAFCON, Morocco hadn't participated in the competition since 2000, and it had never advanced past the group stage. If last time out was a surprise, the Atlas Lionesses are firmly among the top contenders heading into this edition.

Although there's been a coaching change, with Jorge Vilda, who led Spain to the 2023 World Cup, now at the helm, there's continuity in the Moroccan side. Led by mercurial captain Ghizlane Chebbak, joint top scorer at WAFCON 2022, Morocco's squad primarily consists of players who ply their club trades locally. This will give them an edge, chemistry-wise, and the added impetus of completing unfinished business will no doubt play a role in the team's performance.

Meanwhile, South Africa will be looking to defend its title as champions. Banyana Banyana finally became champions after coming in as runners-up five times, and they will have to defend their title without a key player. Former African Women's Player of the Year winner Thembi Kgatlana will bemissing out on the competition due to undisclosed personal reasons.

Kgatlana also missed much of South Africa's triumphant outing in 2022 due to a ruptured achilles sustained in the group, but she's been a mainstay in this golden generation. The majority of the South African squad are returnees from the last WAFCON winning team, including prolific goalscorer Hildah Magaia and longtime talisman Jermaine Seopoesenwe.

As far as contenders, it's customary to include Nigeria's Super Falcons, the record 11-time champions. Last time out, Nigeria lost to the hosts in the semi-finals via penalty shootouts, marking the first time in a decade that the West African country's female team did not leave the competition with the trophy. The Super Falcons will be leaning on experience, with a side that includes 6-time African Women's Player of the Year winner Asisat Oshoala, WAFCON 2022 joint top scorer Rasheedat Ajibade, 4-time WAFCON winner Francisca Ordega, and other members of the team that took 2023 Women's World Cup finalist, England, to penalty shootouts in their second-round matchup.

The last WAFCON also marked the second time Nigeria had participated in the competition and left without a medal. In 2022, they were defeated in the third-place match by Zambia, a rising team in African women's football. This time around, the Copper Queens will be getting a much-needed boost, as phenomenal striker Barbra Banda will be joining the team, hoping to win it all in Morocco.

The reigning African Women's Player of the Year was controversially omitted from the Zambian squad in 2022, due tostringent testosterone testing that ruled her out. Banda, who refused to undergo hormone suppression treatment, has since played in the World Cup and, last summer, became the first woman toscore three hat-tricks at the Olympics.

Banda will be looking to finally open her WAFCON account as a goalscorer. On her radar will be former Nigerian striker Perpetua Nkwocha's record of 11 goals scored in a single edition of the tournament; if there's any player who can get near or probably surpass that record, it's Banda. More importantly, the Copper Queens' captain will be leading Zambia alongside strike partner Racheal Kundananji, to its first football continental title.

"I feel like we are coming back victorious. I believe that because Zambia is a special team," Kundananjisaid recently. "We have broken so many records in this generation - I feel like it's a chosen generation for Zambia's women's national team. We are ready to go there and shine free."