ACCRA, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- The 11th edition of the Africa Women's Cup of Nations (AWCON) kicked off in style at the national sports stadium in Accra on Saturday.

Several guests and dignitaries including Ghana's First Lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo witnessed the opening ceremony which also featured music from young Ghanaian talents and displayed the rich Ghanaian culture to the rest of the world.

Ghana's Black Queens defeated Algeria 1-0 in the opening game as Gladys Amfobea scored from long range in the 13th minute to give the Black Queens a flying start to the campaign which runs from Nov. 17 to Dec. 1 at the Accra sports stadium as well as the China-built stadium in Cape Coast.

The 2018 Africa Women's Championship will also serve as qualifier to the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup in France, with the top three booking a place to represent the continent.

Qualified teams for the biennial tournament are Ghana, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Mali, Algeria, Zambia, South Africa and Cameroon. Enditem