The draw for the 2016 Africa Women Cup of Nations (AWCON) took place on Sunday evening in Yaoundé, revealing the matches that will take place in later in the year when the continent’s eight best women’s national teams will face off in Cameroon.
Group A saw hosts Cameroon drawn alongside Egypt, South Africa and Zimbabwe. South Africa’s Banyana Banyana and the ladies from Zimbabwe were Africa’s representatives in the women’s football tournament at Rio 2016, though neither of the teams progressed from the group stages of the Olympic competition.
Nine-time champions Nigeria were drawn in Group B along with the Black Queens of Ghana. The two West African rivals will be joined by Mali and debutants Kenya.
AWCON 2016: Hosts in Group of Death, Nigeria/Ghana rivalry renewed https://t.co/hBpD5Sbuww pic.twitter.com/bsHZYs1zAz
— IG: @LADIESMARCH (@LadiesMarch) September 18, 2016
Hosts Cameroon lost 2-0 to Nigeria in the final of the 2014 edition in Namibia, and the Super Falcons will be keen to defend their title in this biennial tournament.
The competition is also used as the qualifying criteria for the FIFA Women’s World Cup in the year before the global tournament, so the 2018 edition will provide the qualifiers for the 2019 World Cup in France.
The African women’s flagship competition will be held later in the year between November 19 and December 3.
2016 AWCON DRAW
GROUP A – Cameroon, Egypt, South Africa, Zimbabwe
GROUP B – Nigeria, Mali, Kenya, Ghana