Nigeria’s Super Falcons will face either Ethiopia or Chad in the second round of qualifiers for the 2024 Olympic Games Women’s Football Tournament after the draw was conducted on Tuesday.
The Super Falcons had drawn bye in the first round, after emerging as one of the seven-seeded teams based on their ranking on the continent.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a total of 25 teams had entered the Olympic qualifying tournament, with 18 of them involved in the first round.
The remaining seven, headlined by champions South Africa are the highest-ranked teams from last year’s Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON).
The nine winners from the first round will join the seven highest-ranked teams for the second round involving 16 teams.
The eight winners then progress to the third round, before the fourth round where the teams will be reduced to four.
Winners of the fourth round will qualify for the final tournament.
At the last Olympic Games held in Tokyo, Zambia represented Africa and they will start their journey towards a possible back-to-back qualification in the second round.
The first round draw also lined up a West African derby pitting Guinea and Ghana, while Uganda will take on Rwanda in an East African duel.
Burkina Faso will take on Mali in another entertaining fixture in the first round.
The first round matches are scheduled for July 10 to July 18, and the second round for Oct. 23 to Oct. 31.
The third round will hold from Feb. 19 to Feb. 28 of 2024, while the final round will be staged between April 1 and April 9.
First Round Fixtures (July 10 to July 18):
Guinea Bissau vs Republic of Benin
Guinea vs Ghana
Burkina Faso vs Mali
Cote d’Ivoire vs Sierra Leone
Namibia vs Equatorial Guinea
Uganda vs Rwanda
Ethiopia vs Chad
Congo vs Tanzania
Mozambique vs DR Congo
Second Round Fixtures (Oct. 23 to Oct. 31):
Guinea Bissau/Benin vs Guinea/Ghana
Burkina Faso/Mali vs Zambia
Cote d’Ivoire/Sierra Leone vs Tunisia
Namivia/Equatorial Guinea vs Morocco
Uganda/Rwanda vs Cameroon
Ethiopia/Chad vs Nigeria
Congo/Tanzania vs Botswana
Mozambique/DR Congo vs South Africa.
