Low turn out at Morocco 2022 AWCON shocks Izilien

• Advises CAF to woo more sponsors to women football

Former Super Falcons coach, Godwin Izilien, has expressed dismay over the low turn out of spectators at the ongoing Women Africa Cup of Nations holding in Morocco.

Izilien said the low turn out at the Women’s Championship is a clear sign that much still needed to be done by CAF to raise better awareness of women football in Africa.

He said women football in the western world has attracted high level of spectatorship, like their men’s counterpart, because of the high premium placed on the game by the relevant stakeholders.

Izilien advised the various African football federations to continue designing sustainable plans to develop women’s football in their countries, saying that discovering talented women footballers from Africa could also impact on the viewership of the AWCON.

“It is rather not fair on women football that there is low turn out of spectators at the ongoing Women Nations Cup.”

Apart from the host country, Morocco, which attracts a slightly higher percentage of spectators because the team is hosting the championship, other countries don’t witness much fans in the group games of the championship.

“This is not a good sign of development of women football in Africa. CAF needs to woo more sponsors to add glamour to the game, create awareness on women’s football and try as much as possible to invest more on women soccer in Africa.

“Also, African football federations should encourage grassroots football development in their domain because this will enable coaches raise formidable squads that play quality soccer to attract sponsors.

“It is important for CAF to realise that women’s football can attract economic development and good investment in the continent if well managed. Going into partnership with popular sports brands can also impact in women’s football,” he said.

Izilien also called on the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to pay more attention to the women’s league, saying it is a vital area to pick talents for the national teams.