Sports
2022WAFCON:Winners To Get $500,000
The Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) has announced a 150 per cent increase in the prize money for winners in this year’s TotalEnergies Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), which began at the weekend in Morocco.
The CAF President, Dr. Patrice Motsepe, who disclosed this in a statement, said the increment was as a result of a new policy by the Africa’s football governing body to make women football in Africa competitive.
According to him, the president of CAF and the executive committee ranked women football amongst top priorities of the confederation.
The competition, which kicked off yesterday, saw hosts, Morocco played against Burkina Faso in the opening match at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, in Rabat.
This year’s winner will go home with prize money of $500 000, which is a 150 per cent increase of $300 000. Previous winners of the competition got $200 000.
The prize money for runners-up has almost doubled from $175, 000 to $300, 000 while the semi-finalists will get $225, 000 each, an increase from $125, 000.
The overall prize money for the competition was increased from $975 000 to $2,400 000, an increase of almost $1.5 million.
Meanwhile, this year’s edition will be a groundbreaking one, as the tournament will, for the first time, see the use of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) at all 28 match venues.
Commenting on the use of VAR at this year’s competition, the Director of Referees, Eddy Mailet, said: “This is a bold step in the right direction. As women’s football is growing in Africa, it is important that we adopt the latest trends and technology to enhance the game.
“We have some of the best match officials in Africa in Morocco and training and development of them is key for us. Four female match officials, Salima Mukasanga of Rwanda, Carine Atemzabong of Cameroon and Fatiha Jermoumi, and Bouchra Karboubi from Morocco, were part of the list of match officials at the 2021 AFCON in Cameroon and did an amazing job.
“By using VAR for all matches at WAFCON, we are looking to continue the progression and development of the standard of CAF women’s football.”
A well-known football pundit in the State, Chief Christopher Okonkwo has lauded the efforts and vision of the Super Eagles Coach Eric Chelle for going from one venue of the Nigeria Domestic Nigeria Professional Football League match to the other in monitoring Nigerian players, with a view to invite some exceptional good one discovered into the main stream of the Super Eagles team.
Okonkwo, who made the commendation in an interview at the Port Harcourt Club recently, described the positive move by Coach Chelle as a good step in the right direction, noting that the practice was how its been done in the past among any contracted coach assigned to tinker the Super Eagles team.
“Truly, it has been an old tradition in the country seeing any newly engaged Coach to lead the National team, visiting some our Nigeria League venues during the league matches to spot light some good talents that could be used to beef up some grey areas in the department of Eagles team”
He, however, frowned at the current situation where our coaches had continously been over depending on the use of foreign based players during invitation of players to the National camp, thereby, relegating the domestic home based league players to the background as if they have nothing much to offer to the team.
“I can vividly recall that the likes of great players in the mode of Finidi George, Taribo West, Kanu Nwankwo, Austin Okocha, Richard Owobokiri, Emmanuel Osuigwe among others started from Nigeria football league before they graduated to play in Europe through which they later invited to Super Eagles camp to represent Nigeria”
“Besides, I’m also of the view that going to secondary school football competitive games could equally serves as a a good platform to discover budding talents that could be nurtured to become great stars in near future”, Okonkwo frankly added.
Okonkwo, therefore, prayed that any football coach to be engaged by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to tinker the Super Eagles should be told not to confine himself in staying in big hotel alone but to be visiting some of our local league match venues, with a view to discover some good players that can be drafted into the Super Eagles team.
“Indeed, I stand to be challenged that there some young good players in the Nigeria Professional League. If spotted and exposed, could give the some of the invited foreign based players a stiff competitive fight in securing a postion in the team”, Okonkwo emphatically stated.
Ezechukwu, one of the youngest members of the Nigerian contingent at the championship in Ghana, said her ambition was to win the 100m title in style and cap it with a new personal record.
The fresh secondary school graduate explained that she is fully focused on contributing to Team Nigeria’s medal hopes and is determined to deliver strong performances across her events.
“My main objective in Ghana is to clinch the 100m title and the 4×100m,” Ezechukwu told Tidesports source.
“Nigeria can be assured of my very best and my commitment to the Team. I would love to set a new personal best in Ghana, but anything that comes, I will take it. The spirit in the team is high, and I think we are ready to go,” she said.
Ezechukwu, who was part of Nigeria’s women’s 4x100m relay squad at the World Relays in Botswana, said the experience gained from that competition has strengthened her mindset heading into the continental championships.
She admitted that she learned valuable lessons from her previous outing, including a difficult moment during the relay where an early error affected the team’s rhythm, but said she has used the experience to improve her discipline and composure.
“The secret is just being disciplined, training hard and trusting my coach and believing in God, and the result will show,” she added.
The teenager is part of a 41-member Nigerian team comprising 24 female and 17 male athletes competing at the championships, which begin today at the University of Ghana, Legon.
Nigeria are expected to compete across multiple track and field events as they aim for a strong finish against the continent’s elite athletes.
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