Hanane Ait El Haj


Morocco defender Hanane Ait El Haj has backed her side to emerge victorious at the upcoming Aisha Buhari Invitational Tournament taking place in Lagos, Nigeria next month.

 

The Atlas Lionesses are drawn against Mali and Nigeria in Group A of the six-nation competition and the former Zaragoza star is excited about her team's chance to test themselves against women's football powerhouses in Africa.

 

"For us, it's a good opportunity to know first, our level, what we should improve on and also the level of the teams that we may likely play at the Women Africa Cup of Nations," El Haj, who recently helped ASFAR win the UNIAF Women's Champions League title, told ABC Media.

 

"We play against Mali a lot of times, so we know each other. But it will be our first game with Nigeria and we know they are a big and strong team that always fight for titles."

 

On their ultimate goal at the competition, the 26-year-old said: "Our ambition is to win this tournament and improve ourselves.

 

"It will be a very exciting competition with big teams competing in it, thanks to everyone who organised this tournament."

 

El Haj will aim to inspire the 2022 Women Africa Cup of Nations hosts to success in Nigeria, who are the Cup holders and nine-time African champions.