Times Of Swaziland: SITSEBE FACE ZIM IN AFCON QUALIFIERS

SITSEBE FACE ZIM IN AFCON QUALIFIERS
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BY PHOLSILE HLOPHE on 11/05/2021 08:35:00


MBABANE - Eswatini has been drawn against Zimbabwe in the Women’s Africa Cup
of Nations Qualifiers.
The draw for the Total Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, Morocco 2022 Qualifiers
was conducted yesterday at the CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt. The draw was
conducted live and aired via CAF online and YouTube platforms. A number of
COSAFA sides that were in pot B, featuring 10 teams, were drawn against each
other and Eswatini will take on Zimbabwe in the first round of match seven. The
winner between the two sides will face the winner between Angola and COSAFA
Women’s Championship finalists, Botswana, who were drawn against each other
for match eight.
Participants
Malawi will take on Zambia, while 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup participants
South Africa take on Mozambique. Other matches will see Namibia take on
Tanzania. The winners of the two-legged ties will advance to a final round of
qualifying, where there will be more COSAFA matches. The winner of South
Africa’s tie will meet either Algeria or Sudan, while there will also be a
match-up between Malawi/Zambia and Tanzania/Namibia. The finals tournament in
Morocco also doubles as the African qualifiers for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World
Cup. The top four teams will qualify for the global showpiece in Australia and
New Zealand, and two more teams will advance to the inter-confederation
playoffs.
The first round matches will be played between June 7 to 15, with the second
round clashes scheduled for October 18 to 29. The 2022 AFCON, officially known
as the Total Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, will be the 12th AFCON and 14th
edition if tournaments without hosts are included, the two-yearly international
football championship organised by the Confederation of African Football (CAF)
for the women’s national teams of Africa.
Cancelled
Nigeria are the three-time defending champions, having won the tournament in
2014, 2016 and 2018. The 2020 edition, which would have been the first to
feature 12 teams, was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reached for comment Women’s Football Association (WFA) Chairman, Sonnyboy
Mabuza said it was a fair draw and the fact that the league will be starting in
the country in three weeks will give the players an advantage as football is
still suspended in Zimbabwe. “If we get to start the league early it will give
our players advantage as there will be activity. It’s a fair draw,” Mabuza
said.