Two highly rated International football tournaments are currently on show and fans are widely tuned in to get a feel of the tourneys. The African Cup of Nations and the Women’s World Cup are attracting soccer fans this month but is one overshadowing the other?
Thanks to social media, the Women’s World Cup is receiving a huge following than it has ever done before and some fans prefer it to the AFCON. Africa’s most prestigious tournament began two weeks after the Women’s World Cup commenced and this might be the reason why the former is overshadowing the other.
In Kenya, for instance, everyone was psyched about AFCON until Harambee Stars was on the receiving end of a humiliating thrashing by Algeria. This led to most fans shifting their focus to the Women’s World cup terming it more entertaining than AFCON. The reason behind this of course being the loss of hope that Kenya might perform well in the continental competition.
[Read: Changes Migne should make to give Stars a chance against Tanzania]
Kenya’s below average performance, however, is not the reason some Kenyans are prioritizing the Women’s World Cup to AFCON. The Women’s World Cup has been entertaining since it started with the participants producing a one of a kind extravaganza with unbelievable goals and skills. Apparently, female footballers are as talented as the males but less people were paying attention to it.
The amount of skill and talent that these women have showcased is enough to draw attention to other Women’s leagues and tournaments. In almost all countries, there exists a women’s club league that runs simultaneously with the men’s one. However, fans tend to concentrate on the Men’s one as others are not even aware of the existence of the Women’s one.
Take the English Premier League, for instance, it is the most followed league globally but a huge fraction of its fans have never watched a match of the Women’s Premier League. The teams we vividly support from the English Premier League also have a Women’s team, did you know that? Well, thanks to the Women’s World Cup these leagues will now receiving the attention they deserve.
AFCON is just a scouting ground for top clubs as talent is monitored and the top performing players will likely join top clubs. However, AFCON is only in the group stages and might get more entertaining once t enters the knockout stages.
Luckily, when AFCON will reach the knockout stages the Women’s World Cup would have already ended. The African tourney will probably get more following then.
[See also: Harambee Stars fizzes to despair in uninspiring AFCON defeat]
