By Harry Awurumibe, Head, Abuja Bureau
Defending Champions, Super Falcons of Nigeria will clash with Togo or Niger Republic senior women’s football team in the second round of the 2020 African Women’s Cup of Nations (AWCON) just as the competition kicks off April 6.
According to the fixtures released by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in Cairo, Egypt the first round will take place from April 6 to April 14, 2020.
With CAF increasing the number of participating teams at AWCON final in the 2020 edition, a record entries from 36 different nations across the continent have registered to fight for tickets for the now 12-nation football showpiece.
However, CAF has excluded eight countries including defending champions, Nigeria from taking part in the first round qualifying campaign. The others that have been given a free pass into the second round are Ghana, Morocco, Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroon, South Africa, Mali and Equatorial Guinea.
The first round fixtures will see Gambia kickoff their maiden qualification campaign against Guinea Bissau, while Botswana face their COSAFA rivals Namibia, as 2019 CECAFA Women’s Cup hosts Tanzania reignite their regional rivalry with champions Kenya.
Meanwhile, for the second round of the games, winners between Zambia and Mozambique face winners the winners of Zimbabwe and Mauritius, while the winners of Malawi and Eswatini tie face South Africa.
Equatorial Guinea battle the winner between Angola and Congo, Cameroon will face the winners between Burundi and Uganda, while Morocco slugs it out with the winners of the Ethiopia/Djibouti tie.Mali then face the winners of the Liberia/Senegal tie, and the winners of Guinea-Bissau/Gambia will meet Ghana, while Cote d’Ivoire will look to test their mettle against the winners of Algeria and Burkina Faso.
The tournament is billed to run from November 23 to December 1, 2020 in a yet to known nation after Congo pulled out of hosting the showpiece.
Full fixtures of First Round at a glance
Zambia vs MozambiqueMalawi vs EswatiniZimbabwe vs MauritiusNamibia vs BotswanaGabon vs Central AfricaAngola vs CongoDR Congo vs Sao Tome and PrincipeTanzania vs KenyaBurundi vs UgandaEthiopia vs DjiboutiLiberia vs SenegalGambia vs Guinea BissauTogo vs NigerAlgeria vs Burkina Faso
