Africa Women’s Cup ready to kick off in Tanzania
| A representative from the eight nations competing took part in the draw for the tournament.
The draw for the Africa Women’s Cup took place in Arusha, Tanzania on Friday 28th June ahead of the Africa Women’s Cup on Saturday 29 June - Sunday 30 June 2024
Eight African nations will compete in the inaugural Africa Women’s Cup in Arusha, Tanzania
The tournament aims to empower women and raise awareness of gender-based violence as part of a wider two-year programme supported by the FIFA Foundation
New referees from Kenya and Tanzania complete training ahead of the tournament
Host nation Tanzania will face Kenya, Malawi and Namibia in their group after the draw took place at the AICC Club in Arusha on Friday afternoon.
In the second group, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe will play against each other before heading into the finals on day two of the Africa Women’s Cup.
The teams from eight African nations will compete in the two-day tournament with the champions announced on Sunday 30th June.
The African Women’s Cup is part of a two-year programme tackling gender-based violence against women, a collaboration with the FIFA Foundation and the Homeless World Cup and four delivery partners:
Future Stars Academy (Tanzania), Vijana Amani Pamoja (Kenya), Bauleni United Sports Academy (Zambia) and Zimbabwe (Young Achievement Sports for Development).
Director and Founder of Future Stars Academy, Alfred Itaeli addresses members of the press after the draw.
Alfred Itaeli, Director and Founder of Future Stars Academy from our Member Country Tanzania said:
“It’s a great moment, it’s a big milestone in our history and hopefully for the women in Tanzania and shine a light on empowerment and how sport can be used for a good cause. We’re hope it will be a springboard for more women from other organisations wanting to join, if we can do it so can they.”
Speaking about how the players are feeling, Itaeli said: “To be frank, they’re very nervous, they’re like we’re playing South Africa, Namibia, we’re playing Zambia, Kenya - it’s like, how good are they? But it’s all about the game, what you’ve learned, put it to work and try your best and the rest - well, we’ll see after kick off!”
International referees train the next generation of Tanzanian and Kenyan referees
As part of the programme, 15 trainee referees from Kenya and Tanzania completed a two-day referee training course led by international Homeless World Cup referees Paul Nagtegaal and Natalie Handley. They will be demonstrating their new skills at the Africa Women’s Cup.
Welsh referee Natalie Handley, who refereed the final between Chile and Mexico at the Sacramento Homeless World Cup 2023 said: “There has been some fantastic refereeing on display. I’m excited for the new referees to be in action at the tournament this weekend. Teaching them has been quite special -they’ve given everything.”
Paul Nagtegaal, a qualified UEFA and FIFA accredited referee travelled from the Netherlands to be part of the event said: “The training is amazing, they’ve developed a lot because on the first day they were so shy and now they’re out on the pitch laughing and whistling. They will be brilliant this weekend.”
You can follow all of the action from the African Women’s Cup on the Homeless World Cup website and on our social media platforms.
Find out more about the two-year Football to Protect Vulnerable Women from Exploitation programme supported by the FIFA Foundation and how it is using football to raise awareness of gender-based violence and share skills across nations.