A summer of football
The Euros may have been the headline act, but it was only one part of a global fiesta of women’s football in mid-2022 with Africa, CONCACAF, South America and Oceania also staging international tournaments.
When the last final whistles blew, USA, Brazil, South Africa and Papua New Guinea had joined England and China – who won the Asian Cup earlier this year – as regional champions.
AFRICA
In their sixth final, South Africa finally won the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, defeating hosts Morocco in front of a continental record crowd of 51,000. Both teams had beaten perennial winners Nigeria on the way.
Expanded from eight to 12 teams, the14th WAFCON returned with vigour after a two-year COVID-enforced delay. A controversial regional qualifying process meant there was representation in most corners of the continent, only the northeast missing out.
Morocco won Group A with Ghizlane Chebbak, Player of the Tournament, scoring in all three matches.
