Defending champions, Ghana Black Stars B, will face Gambia in their opening match at the 2019 WAFU Cup of Nations in Senegal on September 28.
The 2019 men’s edition of the WAFU tournament draw was held today at the Radisson Blu Sea Plaza Hotel in Dakar.
The tournament will run from September 28 to October 13 with all matches taking place at the Stade Lat Dior in the beautiful city of Thies.
Unlike the previous edition in Ghana, this year there will be no groups, instead it will be separated into a Cup and Plate competition with each team playing a minimum of two matches.
The WAFU Cup of Nations 2019 format will feature a knockout competition with the winners of phase one progressing to the cup competition, and the phase one losing teams competing in the plate competition.
Host Nation,Senegal, will face Guinea-Bissau in the first match of the 2019 WAFU Cup of Nations on September 28, whilst the defending WAFU Champions Ghana taking on The Gambia on the same day.
Nigeria will be looking for revenge when they head back to WAFU Cup of Nations this year. They face Togo in their first match on September 29. Morocco will go up against Liberia later in the day.
September 30 will see Mali take on Niger while the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire will face the Minnows of Cape Verde. The last two teams drawn to play each other at 2019WAFU Cup of Nations are Guinea and Benin, while Burkina Faso will play Mauritania on the October 1 in the last match of phase one. There will be two games each day before a rest day on October 2 and then the Cup final on October 13.
The quarter finals will be played from the 3rd to 6th October, followed by the semifinals on the 8th and 9th of October.
The final of the plate competition will take place on October 12 with the Cup final concluding the 2019 WAFU Cup of Nations on October 13.
Last year, hosts nation Ghana beat Nigeria 4-1 in the final to lift the trophy at the Cape Coast Sports Stadium.
By Ayishatu Zakaria Ali
