The stage is set for the 2024 TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup after all 12 participants have been confirmed following the final round of qualification on Tuesday, 5 December 2023.
Joining the hosts Morocco were the defending champions South Africa, who had already secured their spot on Monday (4 December) from a 2-0 win against Burkina Faso at the Lucas Moripe Stadium in Atteridgeville – the first leg was evenly poised at 1-all, giving the Sasol-sponsored Banyana Banyana a 3-1 aggregate win.
Also safely in the promised land was Algeria after their 1-0 triumph over Burundi to register a 6-1 aggregate win following a comfortable 5-1 success in the first leg.
The North Africans return to the competition after missing out on the 2022 edition.
With three places filled up, it was up to nine countries to fill up the remaining empty spots.
CAPE VERDE 1-2 NIGERIA (1-7 AGG)
Nine-time winners Nigeria were the last to book their ticket to Morocco. The West Africans had all but secured their passage to the tournament with a 5-0 win in the first leg, and confirmed their place with a 2-1 victory in the return leg – to progress 7-1 on aggregate.
Making their 15th appearance at the finals, Nigeria will be hoping for a better finish than the fourth place they managed in 2022.
DR CONGO 2-1 EQUATORIAL GUINEA (3-2 AGG):
DR Congo returns to the tournament after brushing aside a stubborn Equatorial Guinea. DR Congo had to come from behind – like they did in their 1-all first leg draw – to defeat Equatorial Guinea 2-1 for a 3-1 aggregate win. DR Congo last featured in the finals in 2012.
TOGO 2-0 TANZANIA (2-3 AGG)
Also back in the competition since 2010 is Tanzania, the lowest-ranked nation in the tournament, sitting on the 30thspot on the continent.
The East Africans had to pull out a miracle, after they turned a 2-nil first leg loss to win 3-0 in the reverse fixture, qualifying on a 3-2 aggregate victory.
NAMIBIA 1-0 GHANA (2-3 AGG)
Ghana missed out on the last edition but made sure to book their place this time around, despite losing 1-0 in the return leg. But they had done enough in reverse fixture, where they won 3-1, denying the Brave Warriors with a 3-2 aggregate win.
BOTSWANA 1-0 KENYA (2-1 AGG)
Botswana and Kenya went to their second leg fixture tied on 1-all, and both fought a bitter battle but in the end it was the Botswana Mares that came out victorious 1-0 for a 2-1 aggregate success. Captain Sedilame Bosija saved a penalty to keep her side in the game, and ensure back to back qualification for the 2022 debutants.
CONGO 1-1 TUNISIA (3-6 AGG):
Congo had high hopes going into the return leg following a 1-all draw but Tunisia turned the table on them winning 5-2 as the North Africans progressed on a 6-3 aggregate victory.
ZAMBIA 6-0 ANGOLA (12-0 AGG)
Bronze medallists Zambia were merciless in their meeting with Angola – winning by 6-0 margins in both legs to book their ticket to the finals with a 12-nil aggregate victory for their third successive WAFCON.
GUINEA 0-3 MALI (2-10 AGG)
After failing to make the tournament in 2018, Mali pulled all stops to return to competition. They beat Guinea 7-2 in the first leg, and rounded off their victory with a 3-0 triumph for a 10-2 aggregate.
EGYPT 0-0SENEGAL (0-4 AGG)
Egypt needed a miracle to overturn a 4-0 defeat in the first leg against Senegal, but that miracle never came although the return leg score line of 0-0 gave them some comfort but not enough to secure a spot in the finals. Senegal romped home with 4-0 aggregate win.
CAF WOMEN’S AFRICA CUP OF NATIONS RESULTS:
| Team 1 | Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Senegal | 4–0 | Egypt | 4–0 | 0–0 |
| Mali | 10–2 | Guinea | 7–2 | 3–0 |
| Nigeria | 7–1 | Cape Verde | 5–0 | 2–1 |
| Algeria | 6–1 | Burundi | 5–1 | 1–0 |
| Equatorial Guinea | 2–3 | DR Congo | 1–1 | 1–2 |
| Tanzania | 3–2 | Togo | 3–0 | 0–2 |
| Ghana | 3–2 | Namibia | 3–1 | 0–1 |
| Kenya | 1–2 | Botswana | 1–1 | 0–1 |
| Tunisia | 6–3 | Congo | 5–2 | 1–1 |
| Angola | 0–12 | Zambia | 0–6 | 0–6 |
| Burkina Faso | 1–3 | South Africa | 1–1 | 0–2 |
Only three teams from the top 10 on the continent failed to make the finals, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire and Equatorial Guinea.
Zimbabwe, who recently returned from the international isolation due to a FIFA suspension, is among the countries in the top 20 who will not be in Morocco, along with, among others, Egypt, Congo, Cape Verde.
Top 10 out:
- Cameroon: 3 (56)
- Cote d’Ivoire: 6 (66)
- Equatorial Guinea: 9 (79)
Top 20 out:
- Egypt: 13 (88)
- Congo: 14 (110)
- Togo: 16 (120)
- The Gambia: 17 (123)
- Ethiopia: 18 (124)
- Zimbabwe: 19 (125) – DID NOT ENTER QUALIFICATIONS DUE TO FIFA SUSPENSION
- Cape Verde: 20 (133)
| Team | Last Appearance | Finals Appearance | Previous best performance | FIFA Rankings | |
| Nigeria | 15th | 2022 | Fourth place (2022) | 1 (32) | |
| South Africa | 14th | 2022 | Champions (2022) | 2 (45) | |
| Morocco | Hosts | 4th | 2022 | Runners-up (2022) | 4 (58) |
| Ghana | 13th | 2018 | Runners-up (1998, 2002, 2006) | 5 (59) | |
| Zambia | 5th | 2022 | Third place (2022) | 7 (69) | |
| Tunisia | 3rd | 2022 | Quarter-finals (2022) | 8 (76) | |
| Algeria | 6th | 2018 | Group stage (2004, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018) | 10 (80) | |
| Senegal | 3rd | 2022 | Quarter-finals (2022) | 11 (81) | |
| Mali | 8th | 2018 | Fourth place (2018) | 12 (82) | |
| DR Congo | 4th | 2012 | Third place (1998) | 15 (111) | |
| Tanzania | 2nd | 2022 | Quarter-finals (2022) | 29 (149) | |
| Botswana | 2nd | 2010 | Group stage (2010) | 30 (151) | |
By Matlhomola Morake
