2017 WAFU Cup of Nations
# 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.

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".

## 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.

### 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 | Advance to semi-finals |
| 3 | Mali | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 2 | |
| 4 | Guinea | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 2 | |

**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 | Advance to semi-finals |
| 3 | Senegal | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 4 | |
| 4 | Ivory Coast | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 2 | |

## Goalscorers

### 3 goals

* Stephen Sarfo
* Victorien Adebayor

### 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

* Isaac Twum

### Golden boot

* Stephen Sarfo

### Golden Glove

* Ikechukwu Ezenwa

### 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 |
