** To meet Morocco, Tunisia, Cameroon, Cotè d’Ivoire in subsequent rounds
By Harry Awurumibe, Editor, Abuja Bureau
Nigeria faces a tough road to qualification for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games Women’s Football Tournament as the country will meet strong opponents along the way after drawing minors Sudan or Comoros in the second round of the African qualifying phase which will be played in the weekend of October 5 and 13, 2026.
Prompt News reports that Nigeria will meet tough countries like Morocco, Tunisia, Cotè d’Ivoire, Algeria, or arch-rivals Cameroon in subsequent rounds if the 10-time African champions continue to progress in the qualifiers.
A careful look at the fixtures made available by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) after the official draw was held on Wednesday in Cairo, Egypt, showed that if Nigeria defeats either Sudan or Comoros, she would play against the winner of Congo and Morocco in the third round of matches slated for the weekend of February 23 and March 6, 2027.
Also, should Nigeria beat the winner of Congo versus Morocco tie to qualify for the fourth round, her next opponent will be one of the four countries, namely Tunisia, Senegal, Benin or Mali. The match will be held between October 4 to 12, 2027.
Yet, the fifth and final round of the qualifiers
will see Nigeria confront arch-rivals Cameroon or Guinea/DR Congo/ Cotè d’Ivoire/ Central African Republic/ Algeria/ Burkina Faso, and Equatorial Guinea.
The winner of the final match, which will take place between November 23 to December 4, 2027, will pick one of the two tickets to represent Africa in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
Meanwhile, the match against Morocco presents Nigeria with her stiffest challenges in the race to pick one of the two tickets to represent Africa at the Los Angeles 2028 Games Women’s Football Tournament as Morocco has become one of the strongest women’s football playing countries in Africa at the moment.
Nigeria laboured to beat Morocco 3-2 in a highly-contested final match of the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in Morocco in July 2025.
Two years earlier, Morocco had defeated Nigeria in the semi-finals stage of the 2022 WAFCON also held in the North African country.
For their consistency and tenacity, Morocco will pose a very serious stumbling block to Nigeria even as the draw ensured that Nigeria and West African biggest rivals Ghana and perennial foes South Africa and Zambia will not meet throughout the qualifiers.
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Interestingly, Ghana and South Africa will avoid Nigeria and themselves until they meet in the final stage of the qualifiers.
A record 35 countries entered for the African qualifiers of the global tournament with Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, and Comoros competing to represent Africa in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
Others are Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The competition will take place in five qualifying rounds, with two teams to represent Africa at the Los Angeles Olympic Games Women’s Football Tournament, scheduled for 11 to 29 July 2028.
