Uganda triumph in Tanzania in Africa Women’s Cup
| Uganda are crowned the first champions of the Africa Women’s Cup
Eight nations competed in the first Africa Women’s Cup in Arusha, Tanzania: Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
In a dominant performance Uganda beat hosts and crowd favourites Tanzania to become the first Africa Women’s Cup champions.
Tanzania took a dramatic early lead after an unfortunate ball from Uganda bounced into their own net, but not deterred the visitors came back to win 6-1 in a convincing victory.
Shafic Nkugwa, Team Leader from Youth Sport Uganda said: “I feel so great, we are all winners because we are all playing for her, we are all playing to empower women through the game, and they benefit from the values the sport can give. I believe it’s a very great thing for the team, I believe it’s a very great thing for Africa to keep empowering women and giving them more opportunities.”
In the other final matches of the tournament, there was an exciting clash between South Africa and Malawi in a game that finished 8-7. Despite a dominant start from Malawi with the team taking a multiple goal lead, South Africa fought back to be within one goal, with the game looking like it might go to penalties. In the final standings Malawi finished 5th with South Africa in 6th.
Alfred Itaeli, CEO of Future Stars Academy and organiser of the tournament said: “We’ve loved hosting the first Africa Women’s Cup and seeing the interactions between the different countries and the new friendships being formed. It’s great to learn from the different organisations about the challenges and success stories. The players are on cloud nine!”
“As a member of the HWC network, it is enlightening to see the impact of how the project is coming together. Seeing the young girls growing in front of your eyes and growing in confidence and taking initiative and becoming leaders overnight. It shows how sports and social development put together can transform lives – from despair, to hope.”
James McMeekin, Chief Operating Officer of the Homeless World Cup said: “It’s been a fantastic tournament played in a great spirit; we’re delighted to deliver our first Africa Women’s Cup. This is a highlight of our two-year project supported by the FIFA Foundation focused on using football to raise awareness of gender-based violence. We’ve brought teams together from across Africa to celebrate their year-round work and the power of the beautiful game.”
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.