The draws for the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament qualifiers draw has been announced with Nigeria to play Chad in second round fixtures due to the inclusion in the highest ranked teams in last year’s TotalEnergies WAFCON.
A total of 25 teams have entered the Olympic qualifying tournament, with 18 set to be involved in the first round while the remaining seven, headlined by champions South Africa are the highest ranked teams from last year’s TotalEnergies Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) will join the competition in the second round.
The nine winners from the first round will join the seven highest ranked teams for a second-round tie involving 16 teams. The eight winners progress to the third round, then the fourth round where the teams will be whittled to four.
Winners of the fourth round will qualify for the final tournament.
First Round Fixtures:
Guinea Bissau vs Benin, Guinea vs Ghana, Burkina Faso vs Mali, Cote d’Ivoire vs Sierra Leone, Namibia vs Equatorial Guinea, Uganda vs Rwanda, Ethiopia vs Chad, Congo vs Tanzania, Mozambique vs DR Congo.
Second Round Fixtures:
Guinea Bissau/Benin vs Guinea/Ghana, Burkina Faso/Mali vs Zambia, Cote d’Ivoire/Sierra Leone vs Tunisia, Namivia/Equatorial Guinea vs Morocco, Uganda/Rwanda vs Cameroon, Ethiopia/Chad vs Nigeria, Congo/Tanzania vs Botswana, Mozambique/DR Congo vs South Africa.
The first-round matches are scheduled for July 10-18 2023, the second round October 23-31, third round February 19-28 February 2024 while the final round will be staged between April 1-9 2024.
Match Schedule
First round 10–18 July 2023
Second round 23–31 October 2023
Third round 19–28 February 2024
Fourth round 1–9 April 2024
