Nigeria’s senior women’s national team, the Super Falcons, will on Wednesday discover their route to the football event of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles when the Confederation of African Football conducts the official draw in Cairo.

The draw ceremony, scheduled for April 29 at CAF headquarters in Egypt, will set in motion Africa’s qualifying campaign for the women’s football tournament of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

A total of 35 countries, including Nigeria, will participate in the race for just two tickets allocated to Africa for the Olympic football event, which will take place from July 11 to 29, 2028.

Alongside Nigeria, other contenders include continental heavyweights such as South Africa, Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco and Zambia, as well as a wide range of emerging nations from across the continent.

The full list of participating teams also features Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Comoros, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Namibia, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

According to CAF, the qualification series will be played over five rounds, gradually narrowing the field to the two teams that will fly Africa’s flag at the Olympics in the United States.

For Nigeria, Africa’s most successful women’s national team, the qualifiers present another opportunity to reaffirm their continental dominance and secure a return to the Olympic stage after recent mixed fortunes in global competitions.

The Super Falcons, nine-time African champions, are expected to be among the top seeds when the draw is conducted, a factor that could influence their early-round opponents.

Wednesday’s ceremony in Cairo will therefore provide clarity on the fixtures, timelines and potential hurdles facing Nigeria and other contenders as the road to Los Angeles officially begins.

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By Kunle Solaja.

Morocco’s senior women’s national team will on Wednesday learn their opponents and qualification pathway to the football event of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games when the Confederation of African Football stages the official draw in Cairo.

The draw, billed for April 29 at CAF headquarters in Egypt, marks the starting point of Africa’s qualifying campaign, with 35 nations set to battle for just two coveted Olympic slots.

For Morocco, the exercise represents another significant step in the country’s rapidly rising profile in women’s football. The Atlas Lionesses, who have emerged as one of Africa’s most improved sides in recent years, will be aiming to secure a historic qualification for the Olympic Games.

The North Africans will face stiff competition from traditional powerhouses such as Nigeria, South Africa, Cameroon and Ghana, alongside other ambitious sides including Zambia and Senegal.

Also in the race are Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Comoros, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Namibia, Rwanda, Seychelles, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

CAF confirmed that the qualifiers will unfold across five rounds, with the field gradually trimmed down until only two teams remain to represent Africa at the Olympics in the United States from July 11 to 29, 2028.

Morocco are expected to be among the seeded teams for the early rounds, a reflection of their recent performances on the continental stage, including their strong showing at recent Women’s Africa Cup of Nations tournaments.

Wednesday’s draw in Cairo will therefore be crucial in determining Morocco’s early matchups and the potential obstacles on their path, as they seek to translate recent progress into a maiden appearance at the Olympic Games.

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Tickets for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games will go on sale to the general public on April 9, ​organisers said on Monday, as LA28 also moved to reassure fans over ticket security by naming a group of verified resale ‌platforms that will begin operating in 2027.

A presale for residents in qualifying areas of Los Angeles and Oklahoma City will begin on April 2, with notification emails for selected buyers set to roll out from March 31 through April 4, LA28 said.

On April 7, the organising committee will notify remaining registrants whether they were selected for a purchase ​window in the first general sales round, known as Drop 1.

“This week marks the first opportunity for fans to claim a seat at ​the LA28 Olympic Games,” LA28 Chief Executive Officer Reynold Hoover said in a statement.

LA28’s ticketing programme will include 1 ⁠million tickets priced at $28, the lowest price point. Roughly 5% of the Olympic tickets will cost over $1,000, while more than 75% of all tickets, including ​finals, will be under $400 and nearly 50% of all tickets will be under $200.

“Tickets are comparable to and in many cases well under what we see for ​other professional sporting and major entertainment events in the U.S.,” Allison Katz-Mayfield, LA28 Senior Vice President, Games Delivery Revenue, told reporters on a call.

RESALE PROGRAMME

Separately, LA28 said its verified multi-platform resale programme would open in 2027, with AXS and Eventim serving as the official secondary ticket marketplace and Ticketmaster and Sports Illustrated Tickets also designated as verified resale ​platforms.

The announcement comes as organisers prepare for the first ticket drop and seek to warn fans against buying from unauthorised sellers before the resale programme ​launches.

LA28 said primary tickets would only be sold through its official ticket service providers, AXS and Eventim. It added that any LA28 tickets offered for resale before 2027 ‌should not ⁠be considered verified.

“While LA28’s resale platforms will not be launched until 2027, having a variety of platforms was critical to providing fans multiple points of access to verified tickets,” Hoover said.

LOCAL PRESALE

Fans who registered for the LA28 ticket draw and whose billing postal codes fall within qualifying counties were automatically entered into the local presale draw. Those selected will receive 48-hour purchase windows running from April 2 through April 6 and must use a payment method tied ​to a billing postal code in an ​eligible county to complete their ⁠purchase.

For both the local presale and Drop 1, selected buyers will have 48 hours to purchase tickets, while any tickets placed in a cart must be checked out within 30 minutes. Buyers may complete multiple transactions during their allotted ​window until they reach the ticket limit.

LA28 said tickets would be available across all Olympic sports, as well ​as for the ⁠opening ceremony at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood and the closing ceremony at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

Fans selected for time slots may buy up to 12 tickets for Olympic events, plus up to 12 tickets for the soccer tournament that will not count toward the general Olympic-event limit. Ceremony tickets will be capped at ⁠four per ​buyer and will count towards the 12-ticket maximum.

Registrants who are not assigned a time slot in ​either the local presale or Drop 1 will be automatically entered into future draws, LA28 said. Paralympic tickets are due to go on sale in 2027.

Ticket-inclusive hospitality packages from official provider ​On Location are also expected to go on sale in April. Visa will be the official payment method for purchases.

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