The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has announced the postponement of the Women's Africa Cup of Nations 2026, initially scheduled to take place in Morocco from March 17 to April 3. The tournament will now be held from July 25 to August 16, 2026.
The decision, announced this Thursday, March 5, ends weeks of speculation regarding the maintenance of the initial schedule. CAF cites "unforeseen circumstances" as the reason for the postponement, without providing further details. Discussions took place between CAF, FIFA, and other stakeholders before this decision was made.
The Women's Africa Cup of Nations serves as a preliminary tournament for the 2027 Women's World Cup. The top four African teams will automatically qualify, and two additional teams will have a chance to qualify through intercontinental playoffs.
The number of teams participating in the final phase has been expanded to 16 for the first time. Nigeria is the defending champion after winning the trophy in the 2024 edition.
Several teams had already begun their preparations for the tournament before the postponement was announced. CAF's decision has drawn criticism from some officials of African women's national teams, who expressed frustration with the lack of communication regarding the fate of the competition.
In November 2025, CAF had decided to expand the tournament to 16 teams, thus giving reprieve to Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Mali and Egypt, whose teams had initially failed to qualify. Morocco, Algeria, Senegal and Kenya were drawn in Group A in Rabat, where Group B, consisting of South Africa, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and Tanzania, was also to be played. Group C, including Nigeria, Zambia, Egypt and Malawi, was to be played in Casablanca, while Group D, with Ghana, Cameroon, Mali and Cape Verde, was scheduled in Fez.
Preparations for the TotalEnergies CAF WAFCON 2026 are underway, and all stakeholders say they are confident in the success of the event.
