The 2023 Women’s World Cup belonged to Spain, who beat England 1-0 in the final in Sydney back in August – but, in another way, it also belonged to Africa. For the first time in tournament history, despite off-pitch obstacles suggesting that the odds were against them, three African nations made it through to the last 16 of the competition.
For Morocco, it was a reward for the excellent work the federation has done investing in women's football, following up the team's run to the final of a home Women's Africa Cup of Nations in 2022. But for Nigeria and South Africa, it was a message sent to their federations that they deserve that investment and made many ponder what both nations could achieve with more. After all, eventual finalists England needed a penalty shootout to beat an impressive Nigeria side, while South Africa posed the Netherlands plenty of problems and created tons of chances despite the final result being a 2-0 win for the Dutch.
There was history for Zambia, too, the Copper Queens completing the quartet of nations representing Africa in Australia and New Zealand. Pooled in an extremely tough group in which eventual champions Spain only finished second, behind a Japan team that thrashed them 4-0, Zambia couldn’t secure their spot in the knockout rounds but they did secure a first ever Women’s World Cup win, on their tournament debut.
The team’s 3-1 win over Costa Rica was a memorable one for a team packed with talent, the Copper Queens backing up their fantastic achievement of qualifying for the Olympic women’s football tournament in 2021 with even more history at another huge international event.
With a third-placed finish secured at WAFCON last year, too, it’s clear that this team is one with a very bright future, the average age of their World Cup squad coming in at just over 23 years. From China-based superstar Barbra Banda to talented midfielder Grace Chanda, there are so many quality players to note in this team and prime among them is Racheal Kundananji, this year’s GOAL50 women’s winner and the first ever GOAL50 winner, men’s or women’s, from Africa.