{"id":845950,"date":"2026-08-04T16:38:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T16:38:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/845950\/"},"modified":"2026-08-04T16:38:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T16:38:10","slug":"canadian-players-getting-international-experience-playing-in-womens-african-cup-of-nation-soccer-tournament","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/845950\/","title":{"rendered":"Canadian players getting international experience playing in Women’s African Cup of Nation soccer tournament"},"content":{"rendered":"

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As of late, the attention of the football world was on Gianni Infantino\u2019s ridiculous and failed proposal to sell off future World Cup<\/a> profits to private investors.<\/p>\n

While this drama has played out, actual brilliant football continues to be played and lies at the feet of African women. The Women\u2019s African Cup of Nations (WAFCON) runs July 26-Aug. 16, with 16 teams vying for the championship to be played in Rabat, Morocco.<\/p>\n

There have already been some thrilling results. Malawi \u2014 in its WAFCON debut \u2014 beat 10-time winners and defending champs Nigeria 3-2.\u00a0 Algeria, Cameroon and hosts Morocco have already advanced to the quarterfinals.<\/p>\n

The tournament has had its issues. Initially scheduled for March, it was postponed four months for what Moroccan officials described as \u201cunforeseen circumstances.\u201d Broadcasts rights were only secured a week before the tournament\u2019s start, and attendance has been spotty.<\/p>\n

Regardless, WAFCON has a positive effect on women\u2019s soccer, even as far away as\u00a0 Canada.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Northern Super League (NSL) has three players participating: AFC Toronto teammates Esther Okoronkwo (Nigeria\u2019s Super Falcons) and Linda Owusu Ansah (Ghana\u2019s Black Queens), and Montreal Roses\u2019s Evelyn Badu (Ghana).<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Although it is not an official international window, the players have received blessings and support from their clubs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

NSL president Christina Litz said the league is celebrating the trio\u2019s participation in WAFCON and are cheering them on from Canada.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOur mission to be a top women’s league in the world demands that we be a destination for top players from all around the world,\u201d Litz said. \u201cWhen NSL players are selected to play for their national team it is an indicator that we are achieving that goal and we know great players attract more great players.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

AFC Toronto fully backed Okoronkow when she was subject to a torrent of online racial abuse<\/a> after posting about a theft from her and her teammates’s rooms at a hotel in Casablanca. This was necessary and important because when overseas players choose to work in Canada, their international careers are intertwined with their careers here and ultimately their contributions to the Canadian soccer landscape.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There are other players who represent African countries and live in Canada with dual citizenships. Nyota Katembo, who plays for AFC Toronto, was called into training camp last year, and Olivia Mbala of the Montreal Roses was called up to represent DR Congo.\u00a0 DR Congo is not competing at WAFCON this year but the impact of their involvement with African women\u2019s soccer emboldens the ecosystem in Canada.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Similarly, 21-year old Eden Ou\u00e9draogo-Soulier plays with CS Saint-Laurent in a Montreal suburb but is also a Burkina Faso international. As federations around the world strengthen their women’s programs they often look to players in the diaspora who are eligible to play for them.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Egypt has three Egyptian-Canadian players on their team at WAFCON: Leia Khairy, Christina Salama and Sienna Church, who all play college soccer in the U.S. Their teammate, Joanna Abdelmalak, plays for York University but was injured in a pre-tournament friendly against Senegal and is missing the tournament.<\/p>\n

Abdelmalak grew up watching the men\u2019s version of the tournament and when she realized she could potentially play for the women\u2019s side, she knew she had to wear that jersey.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m representing so much more than just a country, like my family, my friends \u2026 I love playing for Egypt,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

‘Important tournament’<\/p>\n

Abdelmalak said the calibre of the women\u2019s game is often overlooked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think people don\u2019t realize how developed soccer is in Africa \u2026 and it doesn\u2019t get as much attention as a men\u2019s team,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s an important tournament because it will show the quality that there is in Africa. It\u2019s pretty legit.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Players with international experience playing in Canada help grow the game by bringing expanded styles of play, a flair of different techniques, and also add so much to the culture of women\u2019s soccer here. Exposing Canadians to African soccer is exciting and offers a wider lens with which to understand and love the beautiful game.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Ana\u00efs Oularbi grew up in Quebec and plays for the Vancouver Rise in the NSL. She has played for Algeria\u2019s youth team and hopes to be selected for the country\u2019s senior national team. Oularbi said WAFCON is bigger than just soccer, it’s also about giving a platform and helping drive positive change.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the tournament gets more attention, people do their research and become more and more aware of issues like unequal resources, unpaid players and the discrimination that some African footballers experience,\u201d Oularbi said. \u201cThose discussions are important to make the game grow, those discussions can lead to better support, accountability and investment in women\u2019s football in Africa.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

She said representing Algeria was the most memorable experience for her.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cPlaying for your country for all of those little girls that don\u2019t have the same chance as I did was something I was very proud of.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 5 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":845951,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[49,48,561,82],"class_list":["post-845950","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845950","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=845950"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845950\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/845951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=845950"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=845950"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=845950"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}