The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has announced the postponement of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), citing “certain unforeseen circumstances” as the reason for the decision.
The tournament had been scheduled to take place in Morocco from March 17 to April 3, 2026, following the country’s appointment as hosts in October 2024. However, with just 13 days remaining before kick-off, CAF confirmed the competition has been pushed back to July 25 – August 16, 2026, with Morocco retaining hosting rights.
In a statement, CAF said: “After discussions between CAF and its partners, FIFA and other stakeholders, CAF decided to reschedule the dates of the TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations 2026 to 25 July – 16 August 2026, to ensure the success of this important women’s competition, in the light of certain unforeseen circumstances. Preparations for the TotalEnergies CAF WAFCON 2026 are underway and all parties are confident that it will be very successful.”
The announcement comes after a period of uncertainty surrounding the tournament, during which South Africa was tipped to replace Morocco as hosts before CAF confirmed the original host nation would remain in place.
The Malawi Women’s National Football Team, the Scorchers, had briefly paused their preparations amid the confusion. The Football Association of Malawi (FAM) confirmed on Monday that the squad would regroup, stating: “The team will regroup in due course to finalise preparations ahead of the tournament.”
This edition of WAFCON will be the most expansive in the competition’s history, with 16 national teams participating for the first time, up from 12 in previous editions. The qualified sides are Morocco, Zambia, Tanzania, Malawi, Algeria, Nigeria, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Cape Verde, South Africa, Senegal, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali and Egypt.
The group stage draw has already been conducted. Group A features Morocco, Senegal, Algeria and Kenya; Group B comprises Tanzania, Burkina Faso, South Africa and Côte d’Ivoire; Group C brings together Zambia, Nigeria, Egypt and Malawi; and Group D is made up of Cameroon, Ghana, Mali and Cape Verde.
The tournament will also serve as the African qualifying competition for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, to be held in Brazil.
