The Confederation of African Football has confirmed that the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations will now feature 16 teams from the 2026 edition.
The approval was reached by the CAF Executive Committee as part of efforts to grow women’s football across the continent. The next tournament will take place in Morocco from 17 March to 3 April 2026.
CAF explained that although the qualification series was completed under the 12 team format, a new method had to be introduced to add four more countries. According to CAF, “based on the current FIFA Women’s World Rankings, the top four teams from those eliminated in the final qualifying round have been selected to complete the list of participants.” This decision ensures that the most competitive sides get a chance to feature.
With this adjustment, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Mali and Egypt have been selected as the four additional teams for the 2026 competition. They join the 12 countries that sealed automatic qualification which include hosts Morocco, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Zambia, Tanzania, Malawi, Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Kenya and Senegal.
The football body stated that expanding the tournament is part of its plan to enhance the visibility, participation and development of women’s football in Africa. CAF noted that the 16 team format will provide more opportunities for emerging countries to gain experience on the big stage and compete with top ranked teams across the continent.
The 2026 WAFCON will also serve as Africa’s qualifying event for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup to be held in Brazil. This increases the importance of the tournament as teams will not only be fighting for continental glory but also tickets to represent Africa at the global championship.
CAF expressed confidence that the expanded format will raise the standard of the competition and give more players the chance to showcase their talent internationally. The change has been widely welcomed as a timely step to support the rapid growth of the women’s game in Africa.
