MENA Sports Wrap: Morocco's Atlas Lionesses roar past Ghana to reach WAFCON final

Morocco's Atlas Lionesses booked their place in this year's WAFCON final after beating Ghana 4-2 on penalties, while Iran's women triumphed over Jordan to secure their spot at the Women's Asia Cup tournament. Palestinian international Wessam Abou Ali's future at Al-Ahly remains in doubt amid a flurry of transfer rumours, while Saudi Arabia gears up to host one of the world's biggest snooker competitions.

Atlas Lionesses secure place in second consecutive WAFCON final, Iran qualify for Asian Cup

Morocco booked its place in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations final on Tuesday, beating rivals Ghana on 4-2 penalties.

Goalkeeper Khadija Er-Rmichi emerged as the match’s star player after she made a crucial save which sent the Atlas Lionesses roaring into Saturday’s final.

In a fiercely contested match at Rabat’s Moulay Abdellah Stadium, it was Ghana who initially took the lead in the first half.

Er-Rmichi got a hand on Josephine Bonsu’s header but it bounced off the post and skittered across the goal for Stella Nyamekye to push it into the net in the 26th minute.

Morocco waited until the second half to equalise through a 55th minute goal from Sakina Ouzraoui, who bounced a pass from her chest to her feet and scored from underneath diving Ghana goalkeeper Cynthia Konlan.

The game still stood at 1-1 draw when the final whistle blew, prompting the match to go into extra time. No breakthrough, however, was achievable as fatigue set in for both sides.

Hanane Ait El Haj, Ibtissam Jraidi, Kenza Chapelle, and Anissa Lahmari converted their spot-kicks, while Ghana missed twice —Evelyn Badu shooting wide and Comfort Yeboah seeing her effort saved by Er-Rmichi.

The hosts will now face Nigeria, another continental giant, in Saturday’s final, with a chance of lifting the much-coveted trophy on home soil. This marks the second time Morocco has reached a WAFCON final.

Iran sole MENA representative in next year's Women's Asia Cup

In other women’s football news, the Iranian national side defeated their Jordanian counterparts on Saturday, clinching a spot at next year’s 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup in Australia.

The two sides met on Saturday in Amman’s King Abdullah Stadium for their last Group A qualifying match, with both teams placed first and second respectively. Following a goalless first half, two strikes from Sara Didar and Negin Zandi put the Iranians ahead.  

An own goal from defender Fatemeh Amineh Borazjani in the 88th minute gave Jordan hopes of a comeback, but it was too little too late for the side, before the final whistle was blown.

Both teams had a stellar run throughout the qualification process, having won three games and losing one each. But Marziyeh Jafari’s squad had the better head-to-head record, and finished atop of the table based on goal difference.

The Iranians are the last team to qualify for the finals after matches in Group A were postponed due to the recent Israel-Iran war.

Australia will host the 12-team tournament in Sydney, Perth and Gold Coast from 1-21 March, where Iran will be the MENA region’s only representative.

Palestinian star Abou Ali in hot water with Al-Ahly over transfer rumours

Palestinian footballer Wessam Abou Ali has landed himself in hot water with his club, Egypt’s Al-Ahly, after skipping medical checks and not turning up for training, in a bid to push for a transfer from the Cairo-based team.

The 26-year-old Denmark-born player has been linked with a move to US Major Soccer League side Columbus Crew for a reported loan deal of $3 million and with an option to buy for $7 million.

Several sporting outlets have reported varying fees for the Palestinian international, including $7.5 million. Neither clubs, however, have officially commented on the rumours.

Rumours of such a transfer led to coach Jose Riveiro to exclude Abou Ali from a pre-season camp in Tunisia, according to reports.

Other penalties have been imposed on him as a result of tensions between the Palestine international and Al-Ahly, including being fined for missing an MRI scan.

On Tuesday, Abou Ali addressed the transfer rumours, expressing "regret" over how he handled the situation. He said via Al-Ahly’s social media platform:

"I behaved in a manner unbecoming of an Al Ahly player. I spent the best days of my life at Al-Ahly, and the fans supported me during the period when I was experiencing bad luck. Al-Ahly is the club that made me a star player for the Palestinian national team."

"I only want the love of Al-Ahly fans and the management. I have been under family pressure for some time and have done things I do not approve of because I do not approve of such behaviour from any other player."

Saudi Arabia to host major snooker tournament in Jeddah

Snooker stars from all over the world will be headed to Jeddah in August to compete in the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters.

A star-studded line-up is expected to vie for a slice of the ₤2.3 million prize money, including Ronnie O’Sullivan, John Murphy and Mark Williams.

This marks the second edition of the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters after it was held in the capital Riyadh last year. In 2024, world number one Judd Trump won the inaugural edition of the tournament, having edged past Mark Williams 10-9 on the final black.

This year, the Green Halls in the Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Sports City will host the competition between 8-16 August.

The Saudi-held competition is now considered the sport’s fourth major alongside the already-established Triple Crown events.

The Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters has the same tiered draw system as the UK and World Championships, with a field of 144 players who enter the competition at different stages depending on their world ranking positions. 16 wildcards from Saudi Arabia and the Middle East region are also eligible to compete.

Subscribe now to MENA Sports Wrap

Subscribe now