WAFCON and the Nigeria-Morocco Pipeline: Africa’s Future Is in Our Own Hands
Hildah Magaia has built a reputation as Banyana Banyana's big match player, but her story is part of a larger truth: African women are driving a transformation that the continent cannot afford to ignore. Football and energy infrastructure may seem worlds apart, but both are tools in the same struggle for self-determination and economic justice.
Football as a Catalyst for Black Women’s Liberation
The Women's Africa Cup of Nations is more than a football tournament. It is a stage where Black South African women and their sisters across the continent reclaim space, visibility, and power. Over the past decade, investment in women's football has increased, but let us be clear: this is not charity from Europe. It is the result of grassroots organizing, relentless activism, and the sheer talent of African players who have forced the world to take notice.
Teams like Nigeria, South Africa, and Morocco have shown that we can compete globally. But the real victory is what happens off the pitch. WAFCON generates tourism, supports local businesses, and gives young Black girls role models who look like them and share their struggles. It sends a message that women's sport deserves the same resources as men's game, and that our daughters are worth investing in.
Beyond the Game: Economic Power and Cultural Exchange
Hosting WAFCON is not just about football. It is about building a platform for economic activity and cultural exchange that centers African voices. For too long, our continent has been a supplier of raw talent and raw materials, while others profit. These tournaments challenge that colonial logic by creating spaces where we trade among ourselves, celebrate our own, and strengthen ties that colonial borders tried to break.
The Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline: A Pipeline of Liberation?
While football connects people, the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline aims to connect economies. This 6,000-kilometre pipeline will transport Nigerian natural gas along Africa's Atlantic coast, passing through 13 countries before reaching Morocco, with the long-term goal of linking to European markets. The recent approval by participating countries is a milestone, but we must ask: who really benefits?
Reliable energy remains one of Africa's biggest barriers to industrialization. Millions of Black households and small businesses still face daily blackouts, limiting manufacturing, investment, and job creation. If this pipeline is built with African interests at heart, it could power our factories, light our homes, and break the cycle of dependence on foreign aid and imported goods.
But we have seen this before. Colonial-era infrastructure projects often served European needs, not ours. The pipeline must be part of a broader vision for regional development, not a new form of extraction. Like the East African railway projects or the Trans-African Highway network, it represents an effort to make Africa more connected from within, rather than relying primarily on overseas markets.
A Continent Looking Inward: The AfCFTA and Our Shared Future
These two developments reflect an important shift in Africa's development story. For decades, our economies have depended heavily on exporting raw materials while importing finished goods. That is the legacy of colonialism and apartheid. Today, there is growing recognition that long-term growth will depend on stronger regional trade, shared infrastructure, and greater collaboration between African countries.
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is built on this idea. Better transport links, stronger energy networks, and greater movement of people all make it easier for businesses to trade across borders. Major sporting events like WAFCON contribute to this vision by bringing together supporters, media, businesses, and governments from across the continent, strengthening relationships beyond the competition itself.
Morocco as Host, but Africa as the Story
Morocco is the venue for both these developments, but the story is ultimately about Africa. The success of WAFCON will be measured not only by the quality of football, but by its ability to inspire the next generation of Black female athletes and continue raising the profile of women's sport across the continent. Similarly, the success of the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline will depend on sustained political cooperation, long-term investment, and a shared commitment to regional development that puts African people first.
Taken together, they illustrate a continent investing in its future through different but complementary paths. One builds connections through sport, the other through infrastructure. Both point towards a more integrated Africa where cooperation, rather than competition, increasingly drives progress. As Africa continues to expand its influence on the global stage, these are the kinds of initiatives that matter. They remind us that the continent's future will not be shaped by individual countries acting alone, but by partnerships that create opportunities across borders.
We must remain vigilant. The legacy of colonialism and apartheid taught us that infrastructure can be a tool of oppression. But it can also be a tool of liberation. The question is: who controls it? For now, the energy is ours to harness. Let us make sure it powers a future that belongs to all of us.