Women’s Africa Cup of Nations 2026: What to know about the tournament

Published 23 July 2026 · sports

Tournament format, venues, title favourites, groups, prize money and players to watch at the 2026 WAFCON in Morocco. Berths in the 2027 Women’s World Cup

Tournament format, venues, title favourites, groups, prize money and players to watch at the 2026 WAFCON in Morocco. Berths in the 2027 Women’s World Cup and continental bragging rights will be up for grabs when 16 teams compete at the delayed Women’s Africa Cup of Nations 2026. The action in Morocco begins on Sunday, four months after it was initially supposed to start. Nigeria will look to defend the title they won a year ago, while Ghana, Zambia and Morocco are also among the pre-tournament favourites. With high-profile players such as the Zambian pair of Racheal Kundananji and Barbra Banda, and Nigeria’s Rasheedat Ajibade and Malawi’s Chawinga sisters, Tabitha and Temwa, set to feature, there is no shortage of world-class talent in the tournament. Here’s everything you need to know about WAFCON 2026 When does the WAFCON start, and when is the final? The Confederation of African Football (CAF) Women’s Africa Cup of Nations 2026 will begin on Sunday, as Algeria face Senegal in the tournament opener, and hosts Morocco face Kenya on the same day. The final will be played on August 16 in Rabat, marking the conclusion of the 22-day tournament. Group stage: July 26 to August 6 Quarterfinals: August 8 and 9 Semifinals: August 12 Playoffs: August 13 Final: August 16 The kickoff times will be at 17:00 GMT and 20:00 GMT throughout the tournament, except for the final, which will be at 19:00 GMT. The WAFCON is held every two years, but logistical issues pushed the 2024 edition back by a year to July 2025, leaving a shorter gap than usual between tournaments. Why was WAFCON rescheduled? Initially, the tournament was due to be held from March 17 to April 3, but just 12 days before the start, CAF announced it would be postponed due to “certain unforeseen circumstances”. While CAF did not share further details about the reason for the postponement, news agencies, including Reuters, reported that host nation Morocco pushed for a change in dates. Speculation about Morocco’s willingness to host the tournament increased after the on and off-field controversy that marred the men’s AFCON final in January, which Morocco lost 1-0 to Senegal in a dramatic contest in Rabat.

Two months later, however, CAF awarded Morocco a 3-0 victory because of several Senegal players leaving the pitch in protest at the award of a penalty. Where is the tournament being held? As was the case in the 2022 and 2024 editions, Morocco will again host the WAFCON. Matches will be held across five stadiums in two cities, Rabat and Casablanca. ⚽Moulay El Hassan Stadium (capacity: 22,000) – Rabat ⚽Olympic Stadium (capacity: 21,000) – Rabat ⚽Al Medina Stadium (capacity: 18,000) – Rabat ⚽Larbi Zaouli Stadium (capacity: 20,000) – Casablanca ⚽Moulay Rachid Stadium (capacity: 25,000) – Casablanca Initially, games were also scheduled to be held in the city of Fez, but those have been moved to Casablanca. The venue for the final is yet to be confirmed – it will either be the Moulay Hassan Stadium or the 69,500-seater Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat. The latter also hosted this year’s men’s AFCON final. How many teams are taking part? The tournament will feature 16 teams for the first time, up from the 12-team format in the last two editions. This decision to expand the format was announced by CAF in November, only four months before the initial start of the tournament and after the qualifying phase had ended. Thus, based on the FIFA world rankings, the top four teams from those eliminated in the final qualifying round were selected to complete the list of participants. Here’s how the nations are split into four groups ⚽ Group A: Morocco, Algeria, Senegal, Kenya, ⚽ Group B: South Africa, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Tanzania ⚽ Group C: Nigeria, Zambia, Egypt, Malawi ⚽ Group D: Ghana, Cameroon, Mali, Cape Verde Of the 16 qualified teams, nine also featured at the 2024 edition. Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tunisia, who qualified in 2024, missed out this time, while Cape Verde and Malawi will make their first appearance in the tournament. Cape Verde’s WAFCON debut comes shortly after their men’s team achieved a historic last-32 finish at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.