The draw for the TotalEnergies Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, Morocco 2022™ will take place on Friday, 29 April in Rabat.
Banyana Banyana will be part of the 12 nations that go into the hat.
After securing a 2-0 victory at home against Algeria, the South Africans played to a 1-1 draw in the return fixture to qualify for the 2022 AWCON as they advanced with a 3-1 aggregate win last month.
The other teams in the draw are Morocco (hosts), Zambia, Tunisia, Nigeria, Cameroon, Uganda, Senegal as well as debutants Botswana, Burundi, Togo and Burkina Faso.
This will be South Africa’s 12th appearance at the tournament and they have been to five finals (1995, 2000,2008, 2012, 2018) – but are yet to lift the trophy.
Desiree Ellis’ charges lost to serial rivals Nigeria on penalties in the last edition held in Ghana in 2018.
CentreCircle.online spoke to Ellis ahead of the draw:
CC: Looking at the teams in the hat, how are you feeling about the upcoming draw?
DE: It’s been a long time coming and we are very excited now that it’s finally happening. We are really looking forward to the draw. Let us see what we are served with, as that will help a great deal when it comes to planning the way ahead – but on the flipside it is equally important to be on the ready for whatever the draw produces.
CC: Is there anything like an easy draw?
DE: I don’t think so. Senegal are back after they beat Mali who were semi-finalists in 2018. Tunisia beat two-time AWCON winners Equatorial Guinea and there are four debutants in Burundi, Burkina Faso, Botswana and Togo. Then you have the likes of Uganda who have shown they can mix it with the best, as well as Morocco who are doing amazing things with their women’s football project. And how can we forget Cameroon, a power house on the continent. What about the ever-improving Zambian team and the defending multiple times champions, Nigeria. In simple terms, you cannot underestimate anyone as we all have an equal chance.
CC: Banyana Banyana qualified for the last FIFA Women’s World Cup, your maiden one, how important will it be to continue on that trajectory?
DE: Well, very important especially for everyone that has made a contribution to women’s football, but at the same time we don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves. We first have to do well in Morocco, and we have to do so taking things game by game – stay in the current.
CC: 12 teams in the tournament, increased from 8 from the last competition – will it make things easier or more difficult?
DE: I believe it’s actually going to be harder, as each and every game will be difficult right from the start. When you look at the teams that have qualified then it shows how the women’s game has improved in leaps and bounds. Many of the National teams have put in so much work and this is really going to be a tough but exciting tournament. You also have a potential banana skin quarter final, so we are not looking too far ahead of ourselves.
CC: South Africa finished second to Nigeria in Ghana in 2018, what are your hopes this time around?
DE: Anything that has happened before is history but it has given us the belief that anything is possible. Well our first objective is to have a good start as that will give us the momentum and confidence. Getting to the semi-final and qualifying for the World Cup, will be our first objective. But we know the expectations are high and like any team participating in the tournament, we are no different – we want to win our first title but, as I said, it’s one game at a time.
The draw for the TotalEnergies Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, Morocco 2022™ will be broadcast live on Supersport PSL at 22h30.
By Matlhomola Morake
