2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations

Last updated

2026 Women's Africa
Cup of Nations
كأس الأمم الإفريقية للسيدات 2026
Coupe d'Afrique des nations féminine 2026
Tournament details
Host countryMorocco
Dates17 March–3 April [1]
Teams16 (from 1 confederation)
2024
2028

The 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations, commonly referred to as WAFCON 2026, will be the 16th edition of the Women's Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international football championship organised by Confederation of African Football for the women's national teams of Africa. The tournament will be played in Morocco for the third consecutive time. [2] This will be the first edition with 16 teams after CAF confirmed the expansion on 5 October 2025. [3]

Contents

Nigeria are the defending champions.

Host selection

On 17 October 2024, Morocco were confirmed as hosts for the third consecutive time, [4] becoming the first country to host three editions in a row and the third overall to host the tournament three times, alongside South Africa and Nigeria.

Qualification

Qualification pending
Qualified
Did not qualify
Did not enter or withdrew
Not part of CAF 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations qualification.png
Qualification pending
Qualified
Did not qualify
Did not enter or withdrew
Not part of CAF

The following teams qualified for the final tournament alongside host Morocco. [5]

TeamMethod of
qualification
Date of
qualification
Finals
appearance
First
appearance
Last
appearance
Previous best
performance
FIFA ranking
at start of draw
Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco Hosts17 October 20245th 1998 2024 Runners-up (2022, 2024)

Group stage

Group A

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco 00000000 Knockout round
2A200000000
3A300000000
4A400000000
First match(es) will be played: March 2026. Source: CAF
v
v

v
v

v
v

Group B

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1B100000000 Knockout round
2B200000000
3B300000000
4B400000000
First match(es) will be played: March 2026. Source: CAF
v
v

v
v

v
v

Group C

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1C100000000 Knockout round
2C200000000
3C300000000
4C400000000
First match(es) will be played: March 2026. Source: CAF
v
v

v
v

v
v

Group D

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1D100000000 Knockout round
2D200000000
3D300000000
4D400000000
First match(es) will be played: March 2026. Source: CAF
v
v

v
v

v
v

Knockout round

Bracket

 
Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
 
          
 
March 2026 (2026-03)
 
 
 
 
March 2026 (2026-03)
 
 
 
 
 
March 2026 (2026-03)
 
 
 
 
 
April 2026 (2026-04)
 
 
 
 
 
March 2026 (2026-03)
 
 
 
 
 
March 2026 (2026-03)
 
 
 
 
 
March 2026 (2026-03)
 
  Third place
 
 
 
April 2026 (2026-04)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
March 2026 (2026-03)
 
 
March 2026 (2026-03)
 
 

Quarter-finals

The winners will qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup.

v

v

v

v

Play-in matches

The winners will advance to the inter-confederation play-offs.

v

v

Semi-finals

v

v

Third place

v

Final

v

Qualified teams for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup

The top four teams in the competition will qualify directly for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup in Brazil, while two additional teams will have the chance to join them through the inter-confederation playoffs. [6]

TeamQualified onPrevious appearances in FIFA Women's World Cup
TBDMarch 2026
TBDMarch 2026
TBDMarch 2026
TBDMarch 2026

References

  1. "Women's International Match Calendar 2026–29" (PDF). FIFA . Retrieved 3 October 2025.
  2. "Morocco to host Wafcon again as road to 2026 decided". BBC Sport. 12 December 2024. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  3. "Wafcon expands to 16 teams for 2026 finals". BBC Sport. 5 October 2025. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  4. "المغرب يستضيف نهائيات "كان" السيدات 2026" [Morocco to Host the 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations Finals.]. SNRT News (in Arabic). 17 October 2024. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  5. "TotalEnergies CAF Women's Africa Cup of Nations 2026: 38 Nations Begin the Road to Glory in Morocco". cafonline.com. CAF. 12 December 2024. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  6. Morake, Matlhomola (6 December 2024). "CAF confirms women's football calendar dates for 2025 and 2026". SABC Sport. Retrieved 14 December 2024.