WAFU 2017: Six countries arrive in Ghana for tournament

Published on: 07 September 2017

Six countries have arrived in the country for this year's West Africa Union (WAFU)  tournament.

Sierra Leone, Guinea Bissau, Burkina Faso, Gambia and Senegal have joined host nation Ghana.

This year’s tournament will see 16 teams from West Africa compete for the trophy, with a first round of knockout matches set-to-be followed by a group stage (two pools of four teams each), semifinals, third-place playoff and a final.

This will also be the first tournament staged as part of a 12-year partnership between Fox Sports and the West African Football Union.

Ghana, as both hosts and defending champions (they won the last tournament in 2013, also on home soil), will enter the 2017 edition as the favourites, though they face a potential banana skin in the first round against the Gambia.

The other heavyweights in the tournament also pose a serious threat; teams such as Nigeria, Senegal and Ivory Coast, are very strong contenders and the two-week tournament is set to see some upsets very early on.

The 2017 WAFU Cup of Nations will be the fifth edition of the West African regional football tournament, set to be staged in Ghana from 9-24 September, featuring only locally-based players.

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