| Tourney Name: | 2002 African Women's Championship qualification |
| Dates: | 10 August – 13 October 2002 |
| Num Teams: | 21 |
| Confederations: | 1 |
| Matches: | 22 |
| Goals: | 70 |
| Top Scorer: | Jacinta Ramos Géraldine OkaweJoanne Solomon Nomsa Moyo (4 goals) |
| Prevseason: | 2000 |
| Nextseason: | 2004 |
The 2002 African Women's Championship qualification process was organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to decide the participating teams of the 2002 African Women's Championship. Nigeria qualified automatically as both hosts and defending champions,[1] while the remaining seven spots were determined by the qualifying rounds, which took place from August to October 2002.
A record 21 national teams participated in the qualifying process.[2]
Teams who withdrew are in italics.
| Round | Teams entering round | No. of teams | |
|---|---|---|---|
| First round | 14 | ||
| Second round | 7 | ||
| Qualifying rounds | Total | 21 | |
| Final tournament |
| 1 |
Qualification ties were played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. If the aggregate score was tied after the second leg, the away goals rule would be applied, and if still level, the penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winner (no extra time would be played).
The seven winners of the final round qualified for the final tournament.
The schedule of the qualifying rounds was as follows.[3]
| Round | Leg | Date |
|---|---|---|
| First round | First leg | 10–11 August 2002 |
| Second leg | 24 August 2002 | |
| Second round | First leg | 21–22 September 2002 |
| Second leg | 11–13 October 2002 |
|}
Zambia won by default and advanced to the second round.----Ethiopia won by default and advanced to the second round.----
Tanzania won 5–4 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.----
Angola won 6–1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.----
Gabon won 8–0 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.----Senegal won by default and advanced to the second round.----
4–4 on aggregate. Mali won on the away goals rule and advanced to the second round.
|}
South Africa won 8–1 on aggregate and qualified for the final tournament.----
Ethiopia won 4–2 on aggregate and qualified for the final tournament.----
Zimbabwe won 10–0 on aggregate and qualified for the final tournament.----
1–1 on aggregate. Angola won the penalty shoot-out 5–4 and qualified for the final tournament.----
Cameroon won 4–0 on aggregate and qualified for the final tournament.----
Ghana won 6–1 on aggregate and qualified for the final tournament.----
0–0 on aggregate. Mali won the penalty shoot-out 5–4 and qualified for the final tournament.
Angolan Jacinta Ramos, Gabonese Géraldine Okawe, South African Joanne Solomon and Zimbabwean Nomsa Moyo were the top scorers in the qualifying process. In total, 70 goals were scored by 44 different players.
Géraldine Okawe
Rachel Bancouly
Awasso Endegene-Leme Ornella Etoua
Basilea Amoah-Tetteh Joyce Ohenewaa
Maïchata Konaté Diaty N'Diaye
Antoinette Anounga Rolande Belemgoto Cecile Mekongo Etebe Mvie Manga
Louyeye Binga
Semhar Bereket-ab Teamu Debessay Makda Mebrahtu Merhawit Tekeste Feleke Adois Tesfaye Teramah Winie Mapangou Gladys Nisame Memuna Darku Sheila Okah Adélaïde Koudougnon
Absah Gueye
Oliver Mbekeka Annet NankimbugweThe following teams qualified for the final tournament.
| Team | Qualified as | Qualified on | data-sort-type="number" | Previous appearances in tournament1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hosts and defending champions | 19 March 2002 | 4 (1991, 1995, 1998, 2000) | ||
| 11 October 2002 | 1 (1995) | |||
| 11 October 2002 | Debut | |||
| 12 October 2002 | 3 (1995, 1998, 2000) | |||
| 12 October 2002 | 3 (1991, 1998, 2000) | |||
| 12 October 2002 | 4 (1991, 1995, 1998, 2000) | |||
| 13 October 2002 | Debut | |||
| 13 October 2002 | 1 (2000) |
1 Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.