Sports / Soccer
Morocco thrilled to be named hosts of 2022 Nations Cup
18 Jan 2021 at 10:34hrs | Views
AFRICA's football governing body, CAF, has announced that the 2022 edition of its premier women's tournament will be hosted in Morocco.
The tournament which has been held consistently every year since 1998, was cancelled last year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Six nations have hosted the event since it switched to a tournament format in 1998.
Nigeria and South Africa have both staged it three times, Equatorial Guinea hosted it twice, while Namibia, Cameroon and Ghana have all staged it once.
The Democratic Republic of Congo were initially earmarked to be the host last year but they withdrew while South Africa snubbed the opportunity to replace Congo as emergency host in light of their bid for the 2023 Women's World Cup.
For Morocco, this will be the first time to host the biennial tournament since it's inception.
And Omar Khyari, advisor to the president of the Royal Morocco Football Federation (FRMF) Fouzi Lekjaa has affirmed that they will provide an affable platform for the women continental showpiece.
"We are very happy and honoured to host the African Women's Cup in Morocco. First class infrastructures will be available for this competition with the aim of having a high quality soccer showpiece.
"We want this event to be a great celebration of African football. The hosting of this event comes at the right time for the FRMF, which is taking significant steps towards the development of women's football in Morocco," said Khyari.
The opportunity to host the tournament comes at a time when Morocco is making commendable strides to revamp women football at all levels.
The FRMF invested $6 million to develop and grow women's football in Morocco for the next four years with the core target being to have at least 80,000 players and over 1,000 coaches.
"We're also working towards the creation of a strong institution, the national women's football league, as well as implementing a Marshall Plan for the development of women's football with a budget of six million euros.
"We just crowned the champions of the inaugural professional women's football league in Morocco and we're looking forward to seeing the women's game grow," he added.
Meanwhile, this will be the first the continental competition consists of 12 teams from the usual eight.
Morocco are also set host the rescheduled Under-17 Nations Cup between 13-31 March this year.
The tournament which has been held consistently every year since 1998, was cancelled last year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Six nations have hosted the event since it switched to a tournament format in 1998.
Nigeria and South Africa have both staged it three times, Equatorial Guinea hosted it twice, while Namibia, Cameroon and Ghana have all staged it once.
The Democratic Republic of Congo were initially earmarked to be the host last year but they withdrew while South Africa snubbed the opportunity to replace Congo as emergency host in light of their bid for the 2023 Women's World Cup.
For Morocco, this will be the first time to host the biennial tournament since it's inception.
And Omar Khyari, advisor to the president of the Royal Morocco Football Federation (FRMF) Fouzi Lekjaa has affirmed that they will provide an affable platform for the women continental showpiece.
"We want this event to be a great celebration of African football. The hosting of this event comes at the right time for the FRMF, which is taking significant steps towards the development of women's football in Morocco," said Khyari.
The opportunity to host the tournament comes at a time when Morocco is making commendable strides to revamp women football at all levels.
The FRMF invested $6 million to develop and grow women's football in Morocco for the next four years with the core target being to have at least 80,000 players and over 1,000 coaches.
"We're also working towards the creation of a strong institution, the national women's football league, as well as implementing a Marshall Plan for the development of women's football with a budget of six million euros.
"We just crowned the champions of the inaugural professional women's football league in Morocco and we're looking forward to seeing the women's game grow," he added.
Meanwhile, this will be the first the continental competition consists of 12 teams from the usual eight.
Morocco are also set host the rescheduled Under-17 Nations Cup between 13-31 March this year.
Source - Byo24News
