Top 10 African Women’s National Football Teams

Women’s football in Africa, like it was in the United States until recently, is a very minor operation in comparison to men’s football. There is hardly no organized women’s football at the high school or semi-pro club levels. Despite this disadvantage, women’s football in Africa is thriving. So, in order to highlight the incredible effort of women in football, we’ll present you with the top ten female national teams in Africa, as determined by FIFA rankings.

1. Nigeria Women’s National Football Team

The Nigeria national women’s football team, nicknamed the Super Falcons, is administered by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and represents Nigeria in international women’s football. The team is by far Africa’s most successful international women’s football team, having won a record eleven Women’s Africa Cup of Nations titles, the most recent of which they won in 2018, defeating South Africa in the final.

The team is also the only Confederation of African Football women’s national team to have reached the quarterfinals of both the FIFA Women’s World Cup and Football at the Summer Olympics.

2. Cameroon Women’s National Football Team

Cameroon’s national women’s football team, also known as the Indomitable Lionesses, is the country’s national squad and is managed by the Cameroon Football Association. They placed second in the Africa Women Cup of Nations in 1991, 2004, 2014, and 2016, competed in the 2012 Olympic Games, and competed in their first FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2015.

3. South Africa Women’s National Football Team

South Africa’s women’s national soccer team, called Banyana Banyana (The Girls), is the country’s national squad and is managed by the South African Football Association. On May 30, 1993, they played their first official match against Swaziland.

They qualified for Olympic football for the first time in 2012, and for the first time in 2019, they will compete in Group B alongside Germany, Spain, and China. They lost all of their matches, and their single goal came against Spain, when they took a 1-0 lead only to lose 3-1. South Africa won the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in 2022, defeating Morocco 2-1 in the final.

4. Ghana Women’s National Football Team

Ghana’s women’s national football team competes in international women’s football. The Ghana Football Association governs the team. Its participants are known as the Black Queens. Ghana has long been a powerhouse in African football, but the sport is said to be dying due to a lack of corporate funding. Although popular among females, many face prejudice and discrimination.

5. Cote d’Ivoire Women’s National Football Team

The Ivorian Football Federation controls the Ivory Coast women’s national football team (French: Équipe de Côte d’Ivoire féminine de football, recognized as Côte d’Ivoire by FIFA). In 1988, they played their first international match. The team is presently rated 64th in FIFA’s Women’s World Rankings and 6th in CAF.

In the 2014 African Women’s Championship, Ivory Coast astonished everyone by making it to the semi-finals, and later, they startled Africa by defeating mighty South Africa, marking their first appearance in the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada in 2015.

6. Equatorial Guinea Women’s National Football Team

Since 2000, Equatorial Guinea’s women’s national football team, dubbed the Nzalang Femenino, has represented the country in senior international women’s football competition. The Equatoguinean Football Federation, Equatorial Guinea’s governing organization for football, oversees it. In the 2008 Women’s African Football tournament, they overcame seven-time winners Nigeria 1-0 in the semifinals before defeating South Africa 2-1 to win the tournament.

They became the first nation to win the Women’s African Football Championship other than Nigeria. Equatorial Guinea competed in the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2011. The squad won the 2012 African Women’s Championship, defeating South Africa 4-0 in the final. Equatorial Guinea is the Confederation of African Football’s third (of eight) women’s team to qualify for a FIFA Women’s World Cup.

7. Morocco Women’s National Football Team

Morocco’s women’s national football team (French: Équipe du Maroc féminine de football) is administered by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation and represents Morocco in international women’s football. The team’s first international encounter took place in 1998 as part of the third Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.

Morocco’s lionesses won the 2020 UNAF Women’s Cup on February 22, 2020, after defeating Algeria 2-0 in the final standings. Following a pause and lack of success, the Women’s AFCON was expanded to 12 teams beginning in 2020, however because to the COVID-19 pandemic, the first edition was staged in Morocco in 2022 instead.

Taking advantage of its home advantage, Morocco re-established its women’s football system and restored its long-neglected women’s squad. With increased attention, Morocco made history by reaching the semi-finals on their home turf. Morocco has written a historic chapter by becoming the first Arab country to qualify for the FIFA 2023 Women’s World Cup.

8. Algeria Women’s National Football Team

In international women’s football, Algeria is represented by the women’s national football team. In the latest FIFA women’s rankings, the team is ranked 76th overall. In June 2009, the team’s highest position was 64. Radia Fertoul has been the team’s head coach since August 2018, and they have been playing their home games at the Stade du 5 Juillet in Algiers.

On May 14, 1998, Algeria faced France in its inaugural game, which it lost 14-0. No one from Algeria has ever made it to a World Cup. It has five times reached the group stage of the Africa Women Cup of Nations, in 2004, 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018.

9. Mali Women’s National Football Team

The Malian Football Federation, which is in charge of managing football in Mali, oversees the national women’s football team that represents Mali in women’s international competition. The Stade Modibo Kéta, a multi-use stadium in the city of Bamako, is where they hold their home games.

Mali currently holds the 85th spot in the FIFA Women’s World Rankings. Although they have made a total of six appearances in the Africa Women Cup of Nations since the 2002 edition, they have never been able to qualify for a FIFA Women’s World Cup.

10. Senegal Women’s National Football Team

In international women’s football, Senegal is represented by its women’s national football team. The Senegalese Football Federation oversees the team. The Gazelles de Dakar were a women’s team that represented Senegal in the 1970s. Some of these players have even had requests from European clubs, like Ndew Niang, who became the first Senegalese player to compete in the Bundesliega for the Normonia 08. Ndew Niang is the first Senegalese player to compete in the first division of European clubs.

Senegalese women’s soccer, which had a promising beginning in the 1970s, has fallen well behind other African nations like Nigeria, Ghana, Congo, etc. Many Senegalese teams vanished between 1974 and 2002 as a result of issues that had not yet been found. Senegal took part in an African Cup of Nations qualification round for the first time in 2002. This indicates that 28 years have elapsed since Senegal last gave women’s soccer much thought.