2002 WAFU Nations Cup
The 2002 WAFU Nations Cup was supposed to be the first edition of the tournament, but was eventually canceled.
Overview
The tournament featured players from local leagues only. The qualifying phase was competed during April 7–July 7, 2001. The final phase was originally scheduled for Dakar, Senegal, Sep 28–Oct 7, 2001. It was first postponed to October after CAF had refused to give approval claiming it was too close to the 2002 African Nations Cup (set to kick off on January 19, 2002). After WAFU argued that their tournament was for home-based players only, approval was obtained, and the tournament then moved to Abidjan, 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 Sep 18–29, 2002, to be held in Ivory Coast (in Abidjan and Bouaké; the latter venue being added at the last moment). Unfortunately, one day into the match, on September 19, the First Ivorian Civil War broke out, leading to an indefinite postponement of the tournament with the teams stranded in the country. The teams lodged in Bouaké were trapped there for over a week before being able to leave. And the tournament was eventually canceled.
After 8 years, the first successful WAFU Nations Cup was played in 2010.
Canceled Matches
Eight teams participated in the final tournament. The groups are
- Group A: Senegal, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Gambia
- Group B: Togo, Mali, Nigeria, Cape Verde
Only two matches were played on September 18, 2002: Senegal 1–0 Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast 5–0 Gambia. All other matches were canceled due to the civil war.