NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 21 – National women’s football team Harambee Starlets have landed in a tough Pool B for next month’s African Women’s Cup of Nations (AWCON) to be staged in Ghana after the draw was conducted on Sunday night in Accra.
Starlets will face off with defending and record champions Nigeria, 2016 fourth placed side South Africa and Zambia in the pool. Starlets played Nigeria in the last edition of the competition which was their debut year, losing 5-0.
Starlets earned a slot in their second consecutive Cup of Nations after lodging a successful appeal against Equatorial Guinea who were suspended by CAF for fielding ineligible players.
Pool A will have hosts Ghana, Algeria, Mali and 2016 second placed team Cameroon.
The tournament will be held across to Ghanaian cities, the capital Accra hosting Group A games while Cape Coast City, located in Southern Ghana will host Group B matches.
Kenya will start her campaign on November 18 against Zambia before playing South Africa on the 21st and defending champions Nigeria on the 24th.
The opening ceremony will be conducted at the Accra Stadium where hosts Ghana open up the competition with a match against Algeria before Mali take on Cameroon.
The competition kicks off on November 17 and runs till December 1 with the top three sides set to earn a slot in next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup.