ABUJA – Algeria is the first team to arrive in Namibia for the 2014 African Women Championship (AWC) in Namibia, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has said.
In a statement on CAF’s website on Sunday, the Algerian team, Les Fennecs Dames, touched down in the early hours of Sunday, Sept. 28.
The AWC, which is in its 9th edition, is scheduled to hold in Namibia from Oct. 11 to Oct. 25.
“They touched down at the Hosea Kutako International Airport in Windhoek and were warmly received by officials of the Local Organising Committee (LOC).
“The 38-member delegation includes 21 players, who will do battle for the Algerians, are housed in Group B with Cameroon, Ghana and South Africa.’’
The Algerian coach, Azzedine Chih, said that his team arrived early to acclimatise and continue with its preparations.
“We are here two weeks before we kick-off our first game and we want to feel the weather and just get going and see what we can do here. [eap_ad_1] “We want to take our chances and see how far we can go.
“This is because we have teams with World Cup and Olympics experience in our group and we know what to expect.’’ Chih was quoted as saying.
The Algerian team has already lined-up two friendly games against hosts, Brave Gladiators of Namibia, to fine-tune their preparations.
According to the statement, Ghana’s Black Queens are expected in later today via South Africa.
“The Ghanaians are estimated to arrive in Windhoek by 1300 hours (1 p.m.) local time.
“The five others; Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, South Africa and Zambia are expected from Oct. 7, four days before the opening ceremony.’’
NAN reports that hosts Namibia, Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire and Zambia are in Group A while Algeria, Cameroon, Ghana and South Africa make up Group B.
The three top finishers at the tournament will represent the continent at the 2015 FIFA women’s World Cup in Canada. (NAN)
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