Adedokun Waliyu 
The Super Falcons will pocket the sum of $500 000 should they win the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations finals in Morocco.
Nigeria are three-time defending champions, having most recently won the competition consecutively in 2014, 2016 and 2018.
They have been drawn in Group C, alongside South Africa, Botswana and Burundi.
Their first fixturen is against South Africa at Stade Prince Moulay EL Hassan in Rabat on Monday July 4.
Ahead of the 2022 WAFCON finals in Morocco, CAF has increased the prize money by 150 per cent.
The adjustment of the prize money is in line with the federation’s new policy of making the women’s competition in Africa globally competitive.
The tournament is set to start on July 2 when hosts Morocco will face Burkina Faso in the opener at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, in Rabat.
“The winner of this year’s edition will pocket $500 000 – a 150 per cent increase of $300,000.”
“Previous winners of this competition received $200,000,” CAF President Patrice Motsepe announced as per CafOnline ahead of this year’s 12-nation tournament.
“The overall prize money of the competition has been increased from $975,000 to $2,400,000, – an increase of almost $1.5m.
“The President of Caf and the Caf Executive Committee have identified women’s football as amongst the top priorities of CAF.”
The runners-up and the semi-finalists will also enjoy an increased monetary package as per the new policy.
“The prize money for runners-up has almost doubled from $175,000 to $300,000 and the semi-finalists will get $225,000 each, which has increased from $125,000,” CAF’s statement added.
Meanwhile, the chairperson of CAF’s Women’s Football Organizing Committee, Kanizat Ibrahim, has defended the competitiveness of WAFCON and hopes 2022’s stars will shine.
“Definitely, and without any doubt,” Ibrahim said when asked whether Wafcon is a competitive tournament. “This is the equivalent of AFCON (Africa Cup of Nations).
“At the very beginning, WAFCON was serving to only discover talents and players. Now we have world-famous players who, for a competition like this, come back to highlight their country, their continent.
“These women are ambassadors.”
“We can’t wait to see our own stars shining. Who is not eager to see what Asisat Oshoala of Nigeria does this year? Will the South African Thembi Kgatlana keep her title of best player acquired during the last edition? What will Ajara Njoya or Gabrielle Onguene do for Cameroon?
“Each of our teams now has renowned players.”
The tournament will end on July 23.
