2018 Women's Africa Cup of Nations
International football competition
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The 2018 Women's Africa Cup of Nations (officially known as the Total Women's Africa Cup Of Nations, Ghana 2018)[1] was the 13th edition of the Africa Women Cup of Nations (formerly African Women's Championship), the biennial international football championship organised by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for the women's national teams of Africa. The tournament was held in Ghana,[2] from 17 November to 1 December 2018.[3]
| |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | Ghana |
| Dates | 17 November – 1 December |
| Teams | 8 |
| Venues | 2 (in 2 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Nigeria (9th title) |
| Runners-up |  South Africa |
| Third place |  Cameroon |
| Fourth place |  Mali |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 16 |
| Goals scored | 51 (3.19 per match) |
| Top scorer | Thembi Kgatlana (5 goals) |
| Best player | Thembi Kgatlana |
| Fair play award | Cameroon |
← 2016 | |
The tournament also doubled as the African qualifiers to the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup. The top three teams qualified for the World Cup in France.[4]
Nigeria, the two-time defending champions, won the tournament for their third consecutive and a record-extending 9th overall Africa Women Cup of Nations title.
Sponsorship
Host selection
There were no other associations bidding to host the event other than Ghana.[6] Ghana was de facto awarded the hosting rights on 27 September 2016 and officially in mid December.[7] It is the first time they hosted the women's event.
Following media reports in mid-2018 that Ghana may be stripped of the hosting rights, this topic was discussed at the meeting of the Organising Committee for Women's Football on 12 September, and a final decision not to replace Ghana as host was taken by the CAF Executive Committee at its meeting on 27–28 September, though the Secretariat would continue to closely monitor preparations.[8][9]
Mascot
The mascot for the 11th Edition of Total Women's African Cup of Nations is called Agrohemaa and it is represented by an eagle. The reason why the eagle is used for the tournament is because of its courage, strength, focus and immortality.[10]
Qualification
Ghana qualified automatically as hosts, while the remaining seven spots were determined by the qualifying rounds played in April and June 2018.[11]
Equatorial Guinea were initially banned from the 2018 Africa Women Cup of Nations,[12] but were reinstated after the ban was lifted in July 2017 at an emergency CAF committee meeting, and were included in the qualifying draw. However, FIFA banned them from qualifying for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, meaning they could not qualify for the World Cup regardless of their performance in the Africa Women Cup of Nations.[13][14]
Qualified teams
The following eight teams qualified for the final tournament. Initially, Kenya replaced Equatorial Guinea after they were disqualified by the CAF for fielding an ineligible player,[15][16][17] but the decision was overturned on appeal, and Equatorial Guinea were reintegrated into the competition.[18][19] Kenya appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport,[20][21] but failed to overturn the decision.[22]
| Team | Appearance | Previous best performance | FIFA ranking at start of event[23] |
|---|---|---|---|
 Ghana (hosts) | 12th | Runners-up (1998, 2002, 2006) | 47 |
 Algeria | 5th | Group stage (2004) | 80 |
| Cameroon | 13th | Runners-up (1991, 2004, 2014, 2016) | 49 |
 Equatorial Guinea | 5th | Champions (2008, 2012) | 54 |
| Mali | 7th | Group stage (2006, 2016) | 89 |
| Nigeria | 13th | Champions (1991, 1995, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2016) | 38 |
| South Africa | 12th | Runners-up (1995, 2000, 2008, 2012) | 50 |
 Zambia | 3rd | Quarter-finals (1995) | 116 |
Venues
The tournament was held in Accra and Cape Coast.[24]
| Accra | Cape Coast | |
|---|---|---|
| Accra Sports Stadium | Cape Coast Sports Stadium | |
| Capacity: 40,000 | Capacity: 15,000 | |
Squads
Match officials
A total of 16 referees and 16 assistant referees were appointed for the tournament.[28][29][30]
- Referees
Suavis Iratunga
Letticia Viana
Lidya Tafesse
Maria Rivet
Bouchra Karboubi
Patience Madu Ndidi
Salima Mukansanga
Fatou Thioune
Jonesia Kabakama
Vincentia Amedome
Dorsaf Ganouati
Gladys Lengwe
- Assistant referees
Kassonoux Denis
Josiane Nfongan
Kanjinga Mujanayi
Mona Atallah
Mary Njoroge
Lidwine Rakotozafinoro
Bernadettar Kwimbira
Fanta Kone- Queency Victoire
- Fatiha Jermoumi
- Mimisen Iyorhe
- Adia Cisse
- Diana Chikotesha
Draw
The draw for the final tournament was held on 21 October 2018, 19:00 GMT (UTC±0), at the Mövenpick Ambassador Hotel in Accra.[31][32] The eight teams were drawn into two groups of four teams. The hosts Ghana were seeded in Group A and allocated to position A1, and the holders Nigeria were seeded in Group B and allocated to position B1.[25] The remaining six teams were seeded based on their results in the last three editions of the Africa Women Cup of Nations, and drawn to any of the remaining three positions in each group.[33][34]
Note: Kenya were initially included in the draw, but Equatorial Guinea were reinstated to the competition afterwards.
Group stage
The top two teams of each group advance to the semi-finals.
- Tiebreakers
Teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings (Regulations Article 71):[25]
- Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
- Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
- Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
- If more than two teams are tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams are still tied, all head-to-head criteria above are reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;
- Goal difference in all group matches;
- Goals scored in all group matches;
- Drawing of lots.
All times are local, GMT (UTC±0).[35]
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cameroon |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 7 | Knockout stage |
| 2 | Mali |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 6 | |
| 3 | Ghana (H) |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | |
| 4 | Algeria |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 7 | −5 | 0 |
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Africa |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 2 | +7 | 7 | Knockout stage |
| 2 | Nigeria |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 1 | +9 | 6 | |
| 3 | Zambia |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 4 | |
| 4 | Equatorial Guinea |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 18 | −17 | 0 |
| Nigeria | 0–1 | South Africa |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Zambia | 5–0 | Equatorial Guinea |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
| Equatorial Guinea | 1–7 | South Africa |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
| Equatorial Guinea | 0–6 | Nigeria |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| South Africa | 1–1 | Zambia |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
Knockout stage
In the knockout stage, extra time and penalty shoot-out are used to decide the winner if necessary, except for the third place match where penalty shoot-out (no extra time) is used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Article 72).[25]
Bracket
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 27 November – Accra | ||||||
| Cameroon | 0 (2) | |||||
| 1 December – Accra | ||||||
| Nigeria (p) | 0 (4) | |||||
| Nigeria (p) | 0 (4) | |||||
| 27 November – Cape Coast | ||||||
| South Africa | 0 (3) | |||||
| South Africa | 2 | |||||
| Mali | 0 | |||||
| Third place match | ||||||
| 30 November – Cape Coast | ||||||
| Cameroon | 4 | |||||
| Mali | 2 | |||||
Semi-finals
Winners qualify for 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.
| South Africa | 2–0 | Mali |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Third place match
Winner qualifies for 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.
Final
Goalscorers
There were 51 goals scored in 16 matches, for an average of 3.19 goals per match.
5 goals
3 goals
- Fatoumata Diarra
- Asisat Oshoala
- Racheal Kundananji
2 goals
1 goal
Lydia Belkacemi- Imene Merrouche
- Gaëlle Enganamouit
- Claudine Meffometou
Elena Obono
Elizabeth Addo- Gladys Amfobea
- Portia Boakye
- Aïssatou Diadhiou
- Aissata Traoré
- Rasheedat Ajibade
- Rita Chikwelu
- Amarachi Okoronkwo
Refiloe Jane- Linda Motlhalo
- Amanda Mthandi
- Mpumi Nyandeni
- Lebogang Ramalepe
- Jermaine Seoposenwe
- Grace Chanda
- Ireen Lungu
- Mary Mwakapila
1 own goal
- Aurelle Awona (against Mali)
Awards
The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament:[36]
| Award | Winner |
|---|---|
| Best player | Thembi Kgatlana |
| Top scorer | Thembi Kgatlana |
| Fair Play | Cameroon |
| Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards | Substitutes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tochukwu Oluehi |
Lebogang Ramalepe Janine van Wyk Onome Ebi Claudine Meffometou |
Raissa Feudjio Marlyse Ngo Ndoumbouk Elizabeth Addo |
Gabrielle Onguéné Thembi Kgatlana Bassira Touré |
Kaylin Swart Asisat Oshoala Linda Motlhalo Genevieve Ngo Mbeleck Francisca Ordega Fatoumata Diarra |
Qualified teams for FIFA Women's World Cup
The following three teams from CAF qualified for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.
- 1 Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.