2023-07-23 00:26:09
Like never before, Africa claims a place of honor in global women’s football. Four representatives have this continent in the World Cup: South Africa, Nigeria and two of the eight rookies, Zambia, devastated yesterday by Japan (0-5) in the group of Spain, and Morocco, which opens on Monday against Germany.
Both individually and together, the four teams – record participation – aim to continue the progression of African women’s football on the world stage. The objective, within reach of African players, for whom breaking social barriers and stigmas is the greatest challenge on a day-to-day basis, is to improve their performance at the 2019 World Cup in France, when Nigeria and Cameroon passed the group stage. Taking into account their solvent victory in the last African Championship held in Rabat in 2022, South Africa is, in theory, the continental team with the best chance of shining alongside the Nigerian sure bet. Led by midfielder Refiloe Jane, the South Africans will meet in their second appearance with favorites Sweden, Italy and Argentina in Group G.
Morocco is the other African team that aspires to go far in this championship. Not surprisingly, the “lionesses of the Atlas” signed a more than creditable second place in the African Championship, whose final phase was hosted by the Moroccan capital just one year ago. As in the case of South Africa, Morocco can boast that a significant part of its players play in the national league.
Far from going unnoticed, the brilliant performance of the Moroccan women’s team caused a popular explosion of pride that manifested itself in packed cafes across the country to see the “lionesses” and sold out in the semifinals and final at the Mulay Abdallah stadium in Rabat – more than 45,000 spectators -, with a dedicated audience that also included many women and girls. The Moroccan women’s team has contributed, in a short period of time, to breaking down barriers on and off the pitch. Since then, Moroccan football – both men’s and women’s – has lived in a bubble of permanent joy. After the success of the women’s team, it was the turn of “the lions of the Atlas” in the World Cup in Qatar, in which they finished fourth after having eliminated Spain and Portugal. Barely two weeks ago, the Moroccan under-23 team won the African Championship and the streets of the center of the Maghreb capital once again became a party until the wee hours of the morning. A collective progression that cannot be understood without the personal commitment of King Mohamed VI to grassroots football, the best example of which is the launch in recent years of a network of academies throughout the country, in which the one located in the city of Salé stands out.
The “Atlas lionesses”, like their colleagues in the men’s team, have become in the last year, thanks to their good football performance and the perception by society that they also represent appropriate values for youth, in a collective pride. Their faces often adorn marquees and billboards, and after their success last summer it is increasingly common to see girls playing ball in any square or wearing the red or white elastic of the national team.
The North African country is a crossroads and heritage, and its players not only proudly brandish their African status. Also the Arab identity, since Moroccans are the only representatives of a region – by extension, the reality of North Africa and the Middle East is also claimed, which also includes non-Arab States – where the practice of football among women continues to cause stigmas and risks. The Moroccans are also the first representatives of the Arab world to play in the final phase of a World Cup.
Nigeria never fails
The African participation in this women’s World Cup is completed with Nigeria and Zambia. The Nigerian team, perhaps the one that reaches the championship in the best form among the continental ones, will complete their ninth participation in Australia and New Zealand – they have not missed a single world event, something that no other African team can claim. They proudly boast having signed the best performance of an African women’s team, a semifinal in which they fell against the Brazilian team in 1999; a milestone that this year they hope to emulate led by the Barça striker Azizat Oshoala, perhaps the best footballer on the continent. In their first match in the championship they drew 0-0 with Canada.
Like the Moroccan team, the Zambian team makes its debut in a World Cup final phase with the aspiration of putting together a good performance. The Zambian team measured themselves against the best at the Tokyo 2022 Games and two weeks ago they beat Germany in a friendly, but the World Cup is something else and the weight of the premiere with Japan overcame them.
In the other clashes yesterday, the United States thrashed Vietnam (3-0), while England and Denmark beat Haiti and China by one goal to nil.
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