Ex-South Africa star demands CAF overhaul Women’s World Cup qualification

Former South Africa goalkeeper Brian Baloyi has called on the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to overhaul its Women’s World Cup qualification system, arguing that the WAFCON should no longer double as the continent’s main route to the global tournament.

Under the existing format, reaching the semi-finals of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations effectively guarantees a place at the World Cup. While the arrangement has provided a straightforward qualification route, Baloyi believes it has created a situation where teams are forced to compete for two major objectives simultaneously.

Baloyi believes African nations should have a dedicated qualification tournament for the Women's World Cup rather than relying on their WAFCON results.

The former goalkeeper, who represented South Africa at the 1998 FIFA World Cup and the 2000 Sydney Olympics, argued that the current system has been in place for too long.

“It is about time that CAF revisited this thing of qualifying for the World Cup by reaching the semi-finals of WAFCON,” Baloyi told IOL Sport.

He added, “I know that as we were growing up, it is something we got used to, even in junior tournaments.”

According to Baloyi, the biggest problem with the current format is the psychological burden it places on players.

A team competing at the WAFCON is not only trying to win the continental championship but is also constantly aware that its World Cup hopes could depend on the outcome.

“It would do them a lot of good to have qualifiers strictly for the World Cup. Qualifying via WAFCON means they are playing two tournaments in one,” he said.

He continued, “That makes it so stressful for them because here you are trying to win this tournament, but in your head, you are thinking about qualifying for the next and biggest tournament.”

Banyana Banyana of South Africa exited the WAFCON before the semi-final stage, which would normally have ended their hopes of direct World Cup qualification.

However, they kept their campaign alive by defeating Nigeria 2-1 in a play-in fixture.

South Africa and Ghana will now compete in a 10-team play-off later this year for additional places at the 2027 Women's World Cup.

Nigeria's defeat to South Africa means the Super Falcons will miss the Women's World Cup for the first time since the competition was launched in 1991.

The development is a major setback for the 10-time WAFCON champions, who have been a constant presence at the global tournament for more than three decades.