By Amaechi Agbo

South Africa senior national female team coach, Desiree Ellis has described the maiden edition of the Aisha Buhari Invitational Women’s Football Tournament as a “mini Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, www.bestchoicesports.com.ng can report

Coach Desiree Ellis who disclosed this while reacting to the draw of the tournament held on Wednesday in Lagos, Nigeria noted that she had always called for more women’s football competitions in the continent adding that the invitational is a start of great things to come.

“We’ve always wanted more women’s football competitions on the continent and this will be a mini Women Africa Cup of Nations. I think this is a start of great things to come for women’s football in Africa.

“Our (Aisha Buhari Cup) draw was difficult. It’s not as easy as it seems. Ghana has been a powerhouse as well as Cameroon in African football. We cannot take any of the team lightly,” the verstile tactician said.

While commending the quality of teams in the tournament, she said that subsequent edition would rival tournaments in the globe.

“Six top countries and we couldn’t have asked for anything more. We want to thank Nigeria’s First Lady (Dr Aisha Buhari) for the fantastic initiative.

“Next time, it can be much bigger and also rival big tournaments worldwide. It’s a great initiative and we’re very happy to be part of it.”

The Aisha Buhari Cup will commence from September 13 through 21, 2021.

The six participating teams have been paired in two groups of ‘A’ and ‘B’. While Nigeria, Mali and Morocco make up Group A, Group B houses Cameroon, Ghana and South Africa.