‘Briu’ is a Cape Verdean Creole word that can mean grit, determination, drive, focus or energy. That’s how national team forward Sandra Soares-Martins describes the mood in camp as her side prepares for its first-ever WAFCON match.
But such is the rise of the country’s national teams as a whole within the past decade, ‘briu’ could be used to describe the Cape Verdean Football Federation.
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While the men’s side were making history competing in a first-ever senior World Cup, the women’s team were busy putting the final touches to their preparations to create yet more history for the island nation.
How Cape Verde reached its first WAFCON
The newly expanded 16-team tournament is underway in Morocco after kicking off Sunday, July 26, following a delay from March.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) expanded the tournament from 12 to 16 teams after qualification ended. Before that decision, Cape Verde secured their place in Morocco by winning two-legged ties against Guinea and Mali.
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Silvéria Nédio’s side are in Group D alongside Ghana, World Cup veterans Cameroon, and Mali — who, alongside Cameroon, were among the late beneficiaries of the expansion from 12 to 16 teams.
At the heart of Cape Verde’s campaign are Soares-Martins and Alivia Kelly. Both followed unconventional paths to the national team, a common thread in Cape Verdean football.
Alivia Kelly (3) and Sandra Soares-Martins (21) are among the diaspora players representing Cape Verde at the country’s first WAFCON.
Two paths into Cape Verde’s national team
The story of the duo is the story of countries such as Cape Verde in microcosm: the diaspora returning to help their ancestral home.
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Soares-Martins’ route through Portugal and England
Soares-Martins’ footballing journey started early on in life in Portugal.
“I started playing football from the age of 6 years old, although my mom claims since being in her belly I’ve always had a strong kick,” she says.
Having joined her local team, Trajouce 4 Linhas, a lack of facilities for girls meant she ended up playing with boys and older players until she moved to Estoril De Praia. Local recognition followed with the Lisbon District team and international honours weren’t far behind with Portugal’s under-16 team.
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Soares-Martins’ studies as well as football took her to England. Moving to London, she joined Hackney Laces before moving to Crystal Palace in 2017. A year later, she made her WSL 2 debut against Aston Villa.
She later played for Leeds while attending university, followed by stints with Sheffield United, Bradford City, AFC Wimbledon and Dorking Wanderers. She now plays for London Bees, where she scored 13 goals last season.
In October of last year, Soares-Martins made her Cape Verde debut as they overturned a 1-0 first-leg deficit, beating Mali 4-2 in the second leg to seal their first-ever WAFCON spot.
Kelly’s journey from Boston to Cape Verde
Kelly’s path is different still. Her grandmother moved from the island of Fogo to Boston when she was a child, along with her family, where they put down roots. As a result, Kelly was born and raised in the United States. She earned a full scholarship to play Division I college soccer at the University of New Hampshire and also at North Carolina State University.
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The 24-year-old began her pro career in 2024 with Wellington Phoenix in the A-League Women. Following a long-term injury, she moved to FC Slovácko in 2025 in the Czech top division.
Kelly has now left Slovácko, so will be hoping to use the tournament to put herself in the shop window.
How the diaspora strengthened Cape Verde
The Cape Verdean diaspora is something both Soares-Martins and Kelly pinpoint as part of the team’s success.
This has been crystallised by the men’s team in recent years — especially with the addition of Irish-born Pico Lopes. The defender was contacted via LinkedIn by the national team manager in 2019 and starred in the World Cup in the United States.
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“We have added more players each year, some from abroad like me. This helps grow the federation and makes each camp more competitive and exciting for everyone,” Kelly concludes.
Soares-Martins agrees, adding, “Recently we’ve had a great input from staff and players from the diaspora. People with experience outside and within Cape Verde have worked well together to combine their skills, lessons and knowledge to strengthen our team across all levels of performance.”
Carrying earlier players’ work forward
When talking about their feelings of making history, a similar theme emerges with both players. It’s one that encompasses the past, present and future.
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“It’s a feeling of accomplishment and hope for the present but mainly for future generations who want to pursue football in big stages in Cape Verde,” Soares-Martins tells me.
“Being a recent joiner of the team makes me be super thankful of the hard work from those who were here from the beginning,” she notes. She adds that “all the newbies carry their passion and their dedication in the same way” as they look to build a lasting legacy for future generations.
As a newer addition, Kelly fully recognises what her predecessors built.
“Although I wasn’t a part of the group who helped us qualify, I hold a great responsibility for the people who came before and made this dream a reality for us.”
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Summing up the mood within Cape Verdean football at the moment, she says, “It is a very exciting time to be a part of this federation and to have qualified for our first-ever WAFCON. … I am excited to experience a major tournament alongside these girls and compete against Africa’s best teams for a chance to go to the World Cup.”
Cape Verde’s path to the 2027 World Cup
The tournament also serves as a qualification campaign for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
The four semi-finalists will qualify automatically, while the losing quarterfinalists will play for two places in the FIFA Play-Off Tournament.
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So could Cape Verde make more history? Unsurprisingly, there’s an air of optimism in the camp. They have to get out of the group first, something which both see as an achievable aim.
Why Cape Verde believes it can advance
Soares-Martins rates their chances as ‘pretty good’. But she acknowledges that they are underdogs and how far they have come in just eight years.
Kelly too is both optimistic and aware of the task that lies ahead. “I believe in football any team can win on any given day. … No doubt it is a tall task, but we will continue to do everything in our power to compete against every opposition.”
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The World Cup is a goal Kelly says the players are thinking about. “I think Brazil 2027 is definitely present on everyone’s minds and the whole group wants to make more history. Watching the men make history on the biggest stage will undoubtedly give us more belief that anything is possible.”
“Nothing is impossible. We saw it with the men’s, so why fear!”
If they are to qualify as one of the semi-finalists, they’ll have to do it the hard way. Most likely, a tie with either defending champions Nigeria or a Barbra Banda-led Zambia awaits in the quarter-finals.
Nonetheless, Soares-Martins is bullish, insisting they have nothing to fear. “Nothing is impossible. We saw it with the men’s, so why fear! We definitely can do it. Same energy and same diligence. It will be hard work, but we have the ability to do it!”
What WAFCON could mean for Cape Verde’s domestic game
We’ve seen over the past number of years the effect on domestic football that a successful international can have on a country.
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The Lionesses experienced it off the back of hosting and winning the 2022 European Championship. There was a similar uptick in the A-League Women in 2023 as the Matildas made the semi-finals of a home World Cup.
Soares-Martins and Kelly are hoping for a positive effect on Cape Verde’s domestic league.
Kelly is optimistic for the future. “The domestic league and young players will undoubtedly grow from this as women in sports continue to gain a larger following from supporters, the government, and people from all over the world.”
Soares-Martins, meanwhile, is hopeful that the tournament “will lead to creating the right infrastructures to have longer seasons where players and coaches can visualise their development, achievements and impact their local teams.”
Building a lasting future for Cape Verde football
So what does the future look like? How does this groundbreaking qualification become more regular- mundane even? And how does the country build on this more generally?
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Kelly is clear: “Long-term investment from the government and federation will go a long way for us as players.”
Soares-Martins would like the federation to further tap into the diaspora: “We could create incentives that attract experienced Cabo Verdean professionals back to the country to mentor players/staff and club directors.”
The 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations is underway with broadcast partners around the world. RTCV will carry matches in Cape Verde, while Channel 4 has announced coverage for UK viewers.
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