The Ethiopian Women’s National Football Team (Lucy) will face Algeria tomorrow in the first round of the qualifier for the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations 2016.
A 20-member Ethiopian delegation, including 20 players, left for Algiers on Friday.
Coach Birhanu Gizaw has been preparing early selecting experienced players and young talents including striker Loza Abera, Shitaye Sisay, Erehima Zergaw and the midfielder Birtukan Gebrekirstos.
Ethiopian Women National Team were excluded from the qualifications round of the 2016 championship due to a technical error made by the Ethiopian Football Federation (EFF). Later, Lucy was replaced by Togo Women National who opted to withdraw because of lack of finance.
The Algeria women’s national football team represents Algeria in international women’s football. The team is currently ranked 79th in the world in the FIFA women’s rankings. The team’s highest ranking was 64th, in June 2009. The team plays its home games at the Stade 5 Juillet 1962 in Algiers and is coached by Azzedine Chih. Algeria played its first match on May 14, 1998 against France, and lost 14–0.
Algeria has never qualified for a World Cup. It has qualified four times for the African Women’s Championship, in 2004, 2006, 2010 and 2014, all finishing in group stage. Algeria is expected to become the first Arab and Muslim nation to participate in a Women’s World Cup.
The 2016 Africa Women Cup of Nations will be the 12th edition of the Africa Women Cup of Nations, the biennial international football championship organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for the women’s national teams of Africa. The tournament will be held in Cameroon between 19 November and 3 December 2016. The initial dates were 8–22 October 2016, but were changed due to weather considerations. A total of eight teams will play in the tournament.
The winner of Sunday’s match will face Kenya as the Democratic Republic of Congo withdrew from the qualifier.
