The Super Falcons of Nigeria will on Saturday confront the Atlas Lioness of Morocco in a historic final of the WAFCON 2024 at Rabat, Morocco to determine who will be crowned champions of the continent in women football.
The clash between the two sides will be their second meeting since 2022 when both sides met in the semifinal, as the game which entered extra time went in favour of the North Africans after penalties.
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The memory of that game will remain evergreen in the minds of both sides, after two red cards compelled the Falcons to playing a defensive game for about 60 minutes which eventually made them fail to reach the final and and settled for the third place play-off.
On the other hand, the Atlas Lioness who reached their first final after that victory also failed to achieve their ambition as they bowed to the supremacy of the Bayana Bayana of South Africa who beat them to clinch their first continental title.
The final on Saturday between Nigeria and Morocco will be historical for both sides. While the Super Falcons will be seeking their 10th Continental title to establish their dominance on the African continent, the North Africans who represents a beam of grassroots sports development through infrastructure and human talent will be looking forward to breaking the dominance of Nigeria on African soil and announce their superiority in women African football.
Saturday’s final will not just be a game to showcase the strength of continental women’s football, it will also afford both sides who have already booked a spot for the 2025 Women’s FIFA World Cup an opportunity to make an upward review of their stand on the global scene as coefficient in women football ranking seems to be one of the factors at stake in that clash.
Morocco’s reaching two finals in a row is a clear evidence that they have moved on from a lowly rated nation to an elite nation in women’s football. Since suffering their biggest defeat in football from Nigeria in 1998 when the Falcons mauled them by 8-0 in Kaduna, they have made their debut in the World Cup in 2023, reached two finals of the Continental showpiece and will only be looking forward to crown their efforts with a continental title and this remains the focus of Jorge Vilda’s squad when they face Nigeria on Saturday.
However, the Super Falcons who are amongst the elites women’s football team in the World and have dominated Africa a record nine times with an array of stars plying abroad blended with some players from the domestic league will bank on the strength of their squad to become the first women’s team to win their tenth continental title when they meet on Sunday.
The die is cast as both sides seek continental glory at the expense of the other in a championship that will be played in Rabat, Morocco.
