Monrovia — Liberia's women's national team has been drawn to face Cape Verde in the First Round of the 2024 Africa Women's Cup of Nations (AWCON). The draw for the qualification series of the competition took place in Rabat, Morocco on Thursday, July 6.
BY: Christopher C. Walker 0777898224/0886723075 [email protected]
The first round of qualifiers is scheduled to be played between September 18 and 26, 2023.
The winner of the aggregate score between Liberia and Cape Verde will advance to the Second Round, where they will face the winner of the match between Nigeria and Sao Tome. The Second Round matches are set to take place from November 27 to December 5, 2023.
Liberia and Cape Verde have not previously met in any women's competition.
A total of 44 teams, including Liberia, will participate in the qualifiers, and eleven teams will eventually qualify for the final tournament to join hosts Morocco.
The 2024 AWCON, officially known as the Total Women's Africa Cup of Nations, will mark the 13th edition of the biennial international football championship organized by CAF for women's national teams from African countries. The tournament also serves as the African qualifiers for the FIFA Women's World Cup. The top four teams will secure direct qualification for the World Cup, while two more teams will advance to the inter-confederation playoffs.
Liberia has faced challenges in participating in international women's competitions in the past, mainly due to a lack of financial support from the government. However, with the recent draw, many Liberians are hopeful that the necessary funding will be made available to ensure the team can compete.
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In the past, the government cited financial constraints when informing the Liberia Football Association (LFA) about the inability to participate in various tournaments. This included the women's senior WAFU competition, the U20 women's WAFU competition, and men's international friendlies.
In January 2023, the LFA announced that Liberia would not be participating in the WAFU Zone A cup. The decision came after discussions with the Ministry of Youth and Sports (MYS), which stated that the government could not provide financial support for the women's national team to compete in the tournament.
The LFA expressed regret over the team's inability to participate, especially considering their previous success in winning bronze medals (third place) during the maiden edition in Sierra Leone in February 2019. The association assured fans that they would continue working with FIFA and the government to explore all possible avenues for the development of women's football in Liberia.
