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.
 | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | Ghana |
| Dates | 9–24 September 2017 |
| Teams | 16 (from 1 sub-confederation) |
| Venue(s) | 2 (in 2 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Ghana (2nd title) |
| Runners-up |  Nigeria |
| Third place |  Niger |
| Fourth place |  Benin |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 24 |
| Goals scored | 44 (1.83 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Stephen Sarfo Victorien Adebayor (3 goals each) |
| Best player(s) | Isaac Twum |
| Best goalkeeper | Ikechukwu Ezenwa |
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.[1][2]
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".[3]
Participants
Squads
Draw
The draw was held on 27 July at Labadi Beach Hotel in Accra.[4] Teams were ranked using the June 2017 FIFA Rankings. Ghana were given the highest ranking due to being competition hosts.[5]
| 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.
First round
Zone A
| Ghana | 1–0 | Gambia |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Guinea | 2–1 | Guinea-Bissau |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Mali | 3–1 | Mauritania |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Nigeria | 2–0 | Sierra Leone |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Zone B
| Burkina Faso | 1–2 | Niger |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Ivory Coast | 0–0 | Togo |
|---|---|---|
| Report | ||
| Penalties | ||
| 4–3 | ||
| Benin | 2–0 | Cape Verde |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
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 | |
| 3 | Mali | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 2 | |
| 4 | Guinea | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 2 |
| Mali | 0–0 | Nigeria |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Guinea | 1–1 | Mali |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Ghana | 0–2 | Nigeria |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
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 | |
| 3 | Senegal | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 4 | |
| 4 | Ivory Coast | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 2 |
| Senegal | 1–2 | Niger |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Ivory Coast | 0–1 | Benin |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Niger | 0–0 | Ivory Coast |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Senegal | 0–0 | Ivory Coast |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Knockout stage
Semi-finals
Third-place playoff
| Niger | 2–1 | Benin |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
Final
Goalscorers
- 3 goals
- 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
Golden boot
Golden Glove
Best XI
The team of the tournament was announced on 27 September 2017.[8]
| 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:[9]
| 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 |