The members of CAF’s Technical Study Group (TSG) have pointed to the increase of teams in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations from eight to 12 as the key reason for the considerable increase in the level and standard of the tournament, and are now pushing to have the number increase to 16.In 2019, CAF announced the expansion of the Women’s Premier competition in the continent, with the changes set to become effective in 2020 but that year’s edition of the competition was canceled.The #TotalEnergiesWAFCON2022 finalists are decided! 🤩#EmpoweringOurGame pic.twitter.com/tTkgkKtx32— #TotalEnergiesWAFCON2022 (@CAFwomen) July 19, 2022 In a press briefing on Tuesday, TSG members trio of Clémentine Touré from Côte d’Ivoire, Mercy Tagoe from Ghana, and Jacqui Shipanga from Namibia opined that the WAFCON 2022 has been the best edition of the tournament to date not only at the organizational level, but also in terms of the level of the quality of football played.Tagoe went on to say that the level of competition will grow with an increase in the number of teams taking part, drumming their support for an increase to 16 teams according to CAF’s official portal.“We have seen the level of this edition. The level will be even higher if we have more nations. We are 54 federations in Africa, so it would be wise to have more selections at WAFCON,” said Tagoe.📰|BigNews|@CAF_OnlineWomen’s Football in Africa have been given a boost as CAF expands @CAF_AWCON to 12 teamsEight teams were only eligible to play in the competition in previous tournaments but CAF have decided to move it up further by making four more additions#NBSports pic.twitter.com/KgDyfxDwW1— NB Sports Hub™ (@nbsportslive) July 17, 2019 The TSG has been in charge of selecting the “Woman of the match” in the matches played at the continental showpiece in Morocco so far and say that they have been making their selection tied not only to the technical and tactical qualities, but also the attitude of the player during the match, the impact she has on her squad and also her sense of sportsmanship and fair play.Four nations – Morocco, South Africa, Nigeria, and Zambia have already booked their slots at the 2023 World Cup set to be held in Australia and New Zealand, with Cameroon and Senegal qualifying to play in the intercontinental playoffs.
