Togo did not compete in their first FIFA-sanctioned match until 2006, when they played five games. In their first game, on 19 February, Togo beat São Tomé and Príncipe 3–0. The team beat São Tomé and Príncipe again by a score of 6–0 on 26 February 2006 in Togo. In its next two games, Togo lost 0–9 and 1–3 to Congo. The team has since played just one match. In 2007, the team competed at the Tournoi de Cinq Nations held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. There, Togo was paired with Mali and Ivory Coast on Pool B. The team lost 0–5 to Ivory Coast before being disqualified for bringing a club team, MBA Lomé, to the competition in violation of tournament rules. The team was expected to participate in the 2010 African Women's Championship and was scheduled to play against Mali but withdrew before the competition started. The same occurred in the 2016 Africa Women Cup of Nations qualification process, where Togo was drawn with Algeria, but withdrew before playing any game. The team was replaced by Ethiopia, and were excluded from participating in the 2018 edition in Ghana. Now coached by Kaï Tomety, the Éperviers Dames finally returned to the international competition in the maiden edition of the WAFU Women's Cup, after 11 years of absence. The performance of the new team, however, wasn't good as expected, since they were eliminated in the group stage after suffering heavy defeats to Senegal, Mali and Nigeria. Afi Woedikou scored Togo's only goal in the tournament against the latter, as result of a penalty kick.
Background and development
The national football association, the Togolese Football Federation, was founded in 1960 and became affiliated with FIFA in 1964. The organisation has fifteen staff members focusing on women's football. Football is the fourth-most-popular women's sport in Togo, trailing basketball, handball and volleyball. Football's popularity is growing, however. The country had 380 registered players in 2006, up from 180 in 2000. Women's football was first organised in the country in 2000. By 2006, there were 105 football clubs in Togo, 11 of which were for women only. A national women's competition was created by 2006 and was still operating in 2009. While there are no school, university or regional competitions for women's football, there was an active under-17 women's league in 2009. In 2010, a women's football competition involving 50 women's teams was organised by the German embassy, which provided teams with football kits and footballs.
