Women's Football Landscape Report 2022

We had the pleasure of speaking with Meskerem Tadesse Goshime, Head of Women's Football at CAF, about the Women's Football Landscape Report 2022. The report is the first of its kind giving a comprehensive overview of Women's football in the continent with data collated from 52 countries.

CAF realised that in order to understand how best to move forward with Women's football, they needed to understand the current landscape. Therefore, football federation from all participating countries were given time to find and disclose information pertaining to (1) Structure and Governance; (2) Development and Participation; and (3) Leagues and Competitions in surveys created by CAF.

It was clear Meskerem was part of every stage in the process of compiling this information. She described the process from start to finish and highlighted how CAF intend to use this information moving forward. It was apparent that some countries had progressed further in terms of Women's football than others. However, as Meskerem rightly pointed out, having this data means CAF can ensure countries receive targeted support. In addition, countries further ahead in their Women's football development can be learned from and their methods applied if appropriate.

Overall, Meskerem, provided a thorough and informative explanation of the thought process behind this report. It is a great step in the right direction to progressing Women's football in African and can only result in higher numbers of female participation in the sport. Although there is quite a long way to go and improvements can be made, it is clear that CAF are doing what they can to get the ball rolling.