Pretoria - South Africa is to host the 7th African Women Championship in November which will see African women's football teams battling it out for continental supremacy and a place at the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) African Women Championship will feature hosts South Africa, perennial continental powerhouses Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Algeria, Tanzania, Mali and defending champions Equatorial Guinea.
The draw to separate the eight participating teams into two groups of four, as well as the unveiling of the distinctive logo for the tournament, took place in Johannesburg on Tuesday. The host was drawn alongside, Nigeria, Mali and Tanzania.
The tournament will be hosted by the Ekurhuleni Municipality at Daveyton's Sinaba Stadium and Tembisa's Makhulong Stadium from 31 October to 14 November 2010.
Equatorial Guinea won the 2008 championship on home soil, in the process stunning Nigeria's Super Falcons who had won all the previous editions of the tournament at the semi-final stage.
Equatorial Guinea then beat South Africa's Banyana Banyana 2-1 in the 2008 final, so there will be plenty of football scores to settle in Ekurhuleni during what promises to be two weeks of top-class, exciting African women's football.
While African supremacy will be at stake, the big incentive for the teams making it to the tournament's final match will also be qualifying for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup in Germany in June and July next year.
South African Football Association (SAFA) President Kirsten Nematandani said the tournament was an opportunity to build on the momentum of successfully hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
"With the title of African champions and a coveted place at the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup in Germany at stake, the action on the pitch is sure to be frenetic and hard-fought," he said.
Nematandani said participating teams should receive the utmost warmth and hospitality. "We wish them well with their final preparations for a tournament which will benefit the continued rise and growth of women's football and we look forward to welcoming them in Ekurhuleni soon."
Councillor Ndosi Shongwe, a member of the Ekurhuleni Mayoral Committee for Sport, said the Ekurhuleni Municipality viewed the African Women Championship as an important opportunity to carry on the legacy of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
"This is yet another opportunity to put South Africa and Africa on the global map, especially as the two finalists will gain automatic entry into the FIFA Women's World Cup in Germany next year," Shongwe said
He urged all South Africans to fill the stadiums and passionately support home team Banyana Banyana.
"We will be calling all our people to rally behind Banyana Banyana in the same way we did for Bafana Bafana during the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Bafana united us as a nation, now let's allow the women's national team to take over the baton. To us, this is more than just winning the trophy, it is about uniting the country towards social cohesion," she said.
