WAFCON 2026: What you need to know
Several months after it was supposed to start and with more teams than first planned, WAFCON 2026 is finally set to begin. The hosts want
Several months after it was supposed to start and with more teams than first planned, WAFCON 2026 is finally set to begin. The hosts want a maiden title while a tournament outsider have one of its best players. What is WAFCON? The Women's Africa Cup of Nations is the continental tournament to find the best women's international team in Africa. It has existed in some form since 1991 but the current competition's history really starts in 1998, since when it has generally been held every two years. Holders Nigeria have won a record 10 titles with only Equatorial Guinea (2012 as hosts) and South Africa (2022) having broken their domination of the tournament. Originally planned as a 12-team tournament, the African football federation (CAF) added four more teams after qualification. Those four sides had all lost out in the second phase of qualifying but were then reinstated despite CAF earlier denying such changes were afoot. It was a sign of things to come. Where and when is WAFCON 2026 being played? For a third successive tournament, WAFCON is to be hosted by Morocco. Specifically, games are to be played in Rabat and Casablanca with a a third city, Fez, dropped from the initial lineup when the fixtures were announced. Building the game from the ground up To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Since pulling out of hosting the men's AFCON in 2015, Morocco has become the favored African destination for both CAF and global football's governors FIFA.
The North African country, which also hosted the men's AFCON last year, is to cohost the 2030 men's World Cup and has been chosen, or been the sole bidder, for a number of continental and international youth tournaments. The tournament opener, between Algeria and Senegal, is on July 26, with Morocco opening against Kenya later that day. The final is scheduled for August 16 in Rabat. Why is WAFCON being played straight after the men's World Cup? It wasn't supposed to be. After weeks of rumor, denial and a South African offer to step in as hosts, CAF announced just 12 days before the tournament was due to start in March that it would be postponed. CAF, rather vaguely, cited "unforeseen circumstances" as the reason for the delay. "It is a combination of factors, and it is not a decision taken lightly," Luxolo September, CAF's head of communications, told DW at the time. "There is a question of the host nation, Morocco, requesting a postponement for a number of reasons. There has been a lot of interaction between Morocco, FIFA and CAF regarding the date. This is not a nice position for us. We have taken no joy from this. We would have loved to play in this window. It is a window we had requested." Many teams, fans and players were frustrated by the short notice, with preparations made and money shelled out far in advance.
The BriefWire