2017 WAFU Cup of Nations
The 2017 WAFU Cup of Nations (also referred to as Ghana 2017) was an association football tournament that took place in September 2017 in Ghana.
 | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | Ghana |
| Dates | 9–24 September 2017 |
| Teams | 16 (from 1 sub-confederation) |
| Venue(s) | 2 (in 2 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Ghana (2nd title) |
| Runners-up |  Nigeria |
| Third place |  Niger |
| Fourth place |  Benin |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 24 |
| Goals scored | 44 (1.83 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Stephen Sarfo Victorien Adebayor (3 goals each) |
| Best player(s) | Isaac Twum |
| Best goalkeeper | Ikechukwu Ezenwa |
Sixteen teams from West Africa participated. The tournament was the first featuring national teams to be arranged by Fox Sports as part of a twelve year partnership between the broadcaster and the West Africa national football associations union.
Originally, one of the two host cities was set to be Sekondi-Takoradi however the local organising committee changed it to Elmina due to "structural defects at the Sekondi-Takoradi Stadium and the danger it could pose to fans during the tournament".
Participants
Squads
Draw
The draw was held on 27 July at Labadi Beach Hotel in Accra. Teams were ranked using the June 2017 FIFA Rankings. Ghana were given the highest ranking due to being competition hosts.
| Nation | Ranking |
|---|---|
| Ghana | 49 |
| Senegal | 27 |
| Nigeria | 38 |
| Burkina Faso | 41 |
| Ivory Coast | 47 |
| Mali | 66 |
| Guinea | 72 |
| Benin | 81 |
| Cape Verde | 84 |
| Guinea-Bissau | 103 |
| Mauritania | 104 |
| Togo | 112 |
| Sierra Leone | 113 |
| Niger | 130 |
| Liberia | 151 |
| Gambia | 164 |
The four highest ranked national teams from WAFU Zones A and B were seeded meaning they could not be drawn against each other.
Matches
- All times listed are GMT.
First round
Zone A
| Ghana | 1–0 | Gambia |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Guinea | 2–1 | Guinea-Bissau |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Mali | 3–1 | Mauritania |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Nigeria | 2–0 | Sierra Leone |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Zone B
| Burkina Faso | 1–2 | Niger |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Ivory Coast | 0–0 | Togo |
|---|---|---|
| Report | ||
| Penalties | ||
| 4–3 | ||
| Benin | 2–0 | Cape Verde |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Second round
Group 1
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ghana (H) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 6 | Advance to semi-finals |
| 2 | Nigeria | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 5 | |
| 3 | Mali | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 2 | |
| 4 | Guinea | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 2 |
| Mali | 0–0 | Nigeria |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Guinea | 1–1 | Mali |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Ghana | 0–2 | Nigeria |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Group 2
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Benin | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 6 | Advance to semi-finals |
| 2 | Niger | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | |
| 3 | Senegal | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 4 | |
| 4 | Ivory Coast | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 2 |
| Senegal | 1–2 | Niger |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Ivory Coast | 0–1 | Benin |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Niger | 0–0 | Ivory Coast |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Senegal | 0–0 | Ivory Coast |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Knockout stage
Semi-finals
Third-place playoff
| Niger | 2–1 | Benin |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
Final
Goalscorers
- 3 goals
- 2 goals
- Vincent Antigah
- Winful Cobbinah
- Kwame Kizito
- Abdoulaye Camara
- Moussa Kone
- Idrissa Halidou
- Rabiu Ali
- Moses Peter
- 1 goal
- Jules Elegbede
- Rodrigue Fassinou
- Charbel Gomez
- Ibrahim Ogoulola
- Agnide Osseni
- Nabil Yarou
- Hassamy Sansan Dah
- Samuel Sarfo
- Sekou Keita
- Gilson Correia
- Mandala Konte
- Samba Cheikh
- Hinsa Issoufou
- Boubacar Hainikoye Soumana
- Anthony Okpotu
- Moses Okoro
- Ablaye Diene
- Moussa Djitte
- Mohammed Kane
- Assane Mbodj
- Amadu Dia Ndiaye
Awards
Player of the tournament
Golden boot
Golden Glove
Best XI
The team of the tournament was announced on 27 September 2017.
| Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards | Substitutions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ikechukwu Ezenwa | Thomas Abbey Conde Aminata Ablaye Diene Osas Okoro | Adebayor Zakari Adje Afeez Aremu Charbel Gomez Isaac Twum | Winful Cobbinah Stephen Sarfo | Hortalien Ble Zadi (GK) Chima Akas Abdoulaye Camara Boubacar Haini Adeleye Olamikelan Souleymane Sakou Daouda Yussif |
Prize money
The prize was awarded in form of US dollars:
| Position | Prize money (US Dollars) |
|---|---|
| Winner | 100,000 |
| Runner-up | 50,000 |
| Third place | 25,000 |
| Fourth place | 10,000 |
| Four losing semi-finalists | 10,000 |
| Four second round finishers | 5,000 |