WATCH | Morocco never sleeps, but it’s sleeping on Wafcon, maybe CAF is to blame …
The buses of the teams participating in this year’s Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) in Morocco are not branded — but that’s just the tip of the iceberg regarding the competition’s lack of exposure and visibility here.
Today marks a full week since we touched down in Morocco, but it’s never felt like there’s a big tournament happening in this country.
Both in Rabat, the capital, where we initially stayed for a few days, and in our current base, Casablanca, the invisibility of Wafcon signage is too striking to ignore. You need to get close to a hosting stadium to see any Wafcon branding.
The sun sets at 9pm in summer here, and that means people go to sleep very late. Don’t be mistaken; Morocco is a vibrant country, especially Casablanca, which is a hive of activity compared to Rabat.
However, it looks like Morocco is sleeping on Wafcon. We’ve interacted with a few people on the streets, and the majority of them were not aware of it. And that explains why the attendance rate has been shockingly low at this tournament except when Morocco is playing.
Fortunately, we were also here in 2022 when Banyana beat Morocco in the final to lift the trophy. At that time, Wafcon branding was prominent on the streets, and the public seemed to be aware of the competition taking place.
At one recent press conference, Banyana defender Karabo Dhlamini revealed that some locals thought the team were only in the country to play a friendly with Morocco — a massive sign that many people here didn’t know anything about the championship.
Perhaps the fact that the tournament was postponed from its initial schedule between March and April also deprived it of conspicuousness.
So, maybe after all, CAF, who have undertaken a number of commendable initiatives to upgrade the women’s game on the continent, should have done more to market the event.
Banyana’s failure to impress at this Wafcon also did a number on our experience in Morocco. SA, who were poor from the start, crashed out of the tournament in the quarterfinals, where they lost 2-1 to the hosts.
*Ndebele is in Morocco courtesy of Banyana Banyana sponsor, Sasol.