The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has confirmed that the TotalEnergies Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) will be expanded from 12 to 16 teams, starting with the 2026 edition, which is set to take place in Morocco from March 17 to April 3, 2026.
In a statement published on its official website on Wednesday, CAF explained that the expansion aligns with its strategic goal to enhance competitiveness and accelerate the growth of women’s football across Africa.
Since the qualification phase for the 2026 tournament has already concluded, CAF’s Executive Committee approved a selection mechanism to determine the four additional teams.
“Based on the current FIFA Women’s World Rankings, the top four teams eliminated in the final qualifying round have been selected to complete the list of participants,” CAF announced.
The additional qualifiers are Cameroon (66th in the FIFA ranking), Côte d’Ivoire (71st), Mali (79th), and Egypt (95th).
These nations will join the 12 already-qualified teams: Morocco (hosts), Zambia, Tanzania, Malawi, Algeria, Nigeria, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Cape Verde, South Africa, and Senegal.
CAF added that the expansion will give more African countries the opportunity to compete at the highest level and increase the global visibility of women’s football on the continent.
The 2026 WAFCON will also serve as Africa’s qualifying tournament for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
