By Harry Awurumibe, Editor Abuja Bureau
Nigeria comfortably qualified for her 12th Africa Women’s Cup of Nations (WAFCON) after defeating Cote d’Ivoire 1-0 courtesy of Ijeoma Esther Okoronkwo’s 87′ goal on Wednesday at Stade Robert Champroux, Abidjan as Nigeria qualified on 3-0 on aggregate.
Also, ‘Africa’s Elites’ teams- Cameroon and South Africa with 11 previous appearances have qualified for the 12th time even as no fewer than four countries have qualified for AWCON for the first time ever.
The nations making their debuts in WAFCON are Burundi, Burkina Faso, Botswana and Togo, a tiny West African country which have for long played a second fiddle to neighbours, Ghana and Nigeria.
Other qualified teams are (Host) Morocco, Uganda, Zambia, Senegal and Tunisia that have made previous appearances in WAFCON.
Below are the qualified twelve teams for the final tournament in July:
*Morocco (hosts)- 2 (1998, 2000)
- Uganda-1 (2000)
*Burundi (Debut)
*Zambia-3 (1995, 2014, 2018)
*Senegal-1 (2012)
*Togo- (Debut)
*Tunisia-1 (2008)
*Burkina Faso (Debut)
*Nigeria- 13 (1991, 1995, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018)
Botswana- (Debut)
*Cameroon-12 (1991, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018)
*South Africa- 12 (1995, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018).
