The 2002 WAFU Nations Cup was supposed to be the first edition of the tournament, held in the Ivory Coast, but was postponed multiple times for various reasons before eventually being cancelled due to the outbreak of a civil war in the country.

Overview

The tournament featured players from local leagues only. The qualifying phase was completed from 7 April to 7 July 2001. The final phase was originally scheduled to be played in

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from :wo:daqaar, daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar ...

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

, from 28 September to 7 October 2001. The beginning of the tournament was first postponed to October, however, after the Confederation of African Football had refused to give approval of the initial date due to claims it was being played too close to the start of the

2002 African Cup of Nations The 2002 African Cup of Nations was the 23rd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the association football championship of Africa ( CAF). It was hosted by Mali. Just like in 2000, the field of sixteen teams was split into four groups of four. C ...

(set to kick off on 19 January 2002). After WAFU argued that their tournament was for home-based players only, approval was obtained, and the tournament then moved to

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N’ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the economic capital of the Ivory Coast. As of the 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of overall population of the country, making it the sixth most populous city p ...

, to be held in October 2001. It was then postponed again because the main sponsors, TV Africa, pulled out. The tournament was finally arranged for 18 to 29 September 2002, to be held in Ivorian cities

and

Bouaké Bouaké (or Bwake, N’ko: ߓߐ߰ߞߍ߫ ''Bɔ̀ɔkɛ́'') is the second-largest city in Ivory Coast, with a population of 740,000 (2021 census). It is the seat of three levels of subdivision— Vallée du Bandama District, Gbêkê Region, and Bo ...

, with the latter venue being added at the last moment. Unfortunately, one day into the tournament on 19 September, the

First Ivorian Civil War The First Ivorian Civil War was a civil conflict in the Ivory Coast (also known as Côte d'Ivoire) that began with a military rebellion on 19 September 2002 and ended with a peace agreement on 4 March 2007. The conflict pitted the government o ...

broke out, leading to an indefinite postponement of the competition with the teams stranded in the country. The teams lodged in Bouaké were trapped there for over a week before being able to leave. Following this, the tournament would eventually be cancelled. Eight years later, the first successful WAFU Nations Cup would finally be played in

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

Cancelled matches

Eight teams were planned to participate in the final tournament. The groups were: * Group A:

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...

, Ivory Coast national football team, Ivory Coast, Gambia * Group B:

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mal ...

, Cape Verde Only two matches in the tournament were played, both on 18 September 2002: Senegal 1–0 Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast 5–0 Gambia. All further matches were cancelled due to the civil war.

External links

RSSSF archives coverage
{{WAFU Nations Cup WAFU Nations Cup Cancelled sports events