WAFCON 2024-25 - The Spirit of Women's Football Shines in Casablanca, Morocco
- Gibson Alexander
- Jul 7
- 2 min read
Updated: Jul 29
MONDAY 07 JULY 2025 - Marrakech welcomed me with an atmosphere of 44°C heat, as doors opened when I landed for the Women's African Cup of Nations (WAFCON) organised by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
Even without such temperatures, CAF itself is a massive melting pot of cultures with reportedly more than 2,000 languages covered by its 54 national associations. Only 12 of the 54 nations are competing in WAFCON 2024 (which was delayed to 2025 since Nigeria and Zambia were competing at the Paris Olympics).
Yet the difference in standards was clearly indicated in the first match at Père Jégo Stadium. The Algerian matchday squad listed 21 players, 90.5% of whom contracted with noteworthy leagues: 17 players contracted to clubs in European leagues, plus 2 in other well-funded leagues. This contrasted strongly with their opponents Botswana, whose squad contained only 5/21 (23.8%) players plying their trade abroad.
Even the warmup of these two teams displayed a difference in approach: the Algerians were serious and stern (which is traditionally characterised as professional), while the Botswanans were warm and happy. Despite differences in the apparent professional level of their players, the spirit and cohesion of the Botswanans shone brightly as they conceded only one goal in the game and came close to scoring a few times in the second half. Arguably they created the best chance of the match in the 75th minute which led to a one-on-one on the half volley ten yards from the goal, but the Algerian goalkeeper stood strongly.
With their narrow victory and Woman of the Match in #10 Karchouni, the Algerians were united with smiles at the final whistle. They continued their professional approach with cooling-down exercises - a tactic that teams deploy to protect their players from injury - after their triumphant celebrations at full-time.
While the unfortunate Botswanans were crestfallen and walked off the field in pieces. Just like the Moroccan weather, there was not much cooling down for them.
If you would like to talk through options for professionalising and financing football played by women, you will be welcomed warmly when you click the Contact button in the top-right and reach out to speak with one of our specialists in accountancy, law, tax and sponsorship for sport.
Comments