Top women’s football teams from Africa, including Zambia, South Africa, and Nigeria, arrived in Morocco ahead of TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON). set to start from July 5–26, 2025, to compete. Among the first to arrive were South Africa, the reigning champions.
The South African team, Banyana Banyana, arrived in Casablanca on Wednesday following a 24-hour journey from Johannesburg that included a stop in Ghana.
They settled in and promptly started training despite travel delays. “It was a long and exhausting trip, but we have arrived and settled in,” said head coach Dr. Desiree Ellis. We were able to hold our first training session. Being here and getting started for the major tournament is really exciting.
Along with Ghana, Mali, and Tanzania, South Africa is in Group C. On July 7 Ghana is their first opponent; on July 11 Tanzania and on July 14 Mali follow. Oujda’s Honneur Stadium will host all matches.
In Mohammédia, meanwhile, Zambia’s Copper Queens (In photo) arrived in style as they get ready with local and foreign players, Coach Nora Häuptle is guiding high-intensity workouts at the Lanoria Club.
On 5 July, Zambia will face Morocco in the opening match at the Olympic Stadium in Rabat. They will also compete against Senegal and DR Congo on 9 and 12 July, respectively, in Mohammédia.
Morocco is currently preparing by training in Rabat and will play a friendly against Tanzania on Saturday. In Group A, they are joined by Zambia, Senegal, and DR Congo. Senegal has just arrived in Morocco for the tournament.
Group B features Nigeria, Tunisia, Algeria, and Botswana. Excitement is building for this major women’s football competition as top talent gathers in Morocco next week.