Morocco Confirmed as 2026 Wafcon Host, Qualification Pathway Announced

Morocco has been selected to host the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) for the third consecutive time in 2026, with the qualification pathway unveiled on Thursday. South Africa currently holds the Wafcon title and is scheduled to defend it in July 2025. A total of 38 nations have entered the preliminary rounds for the 2026 tournament, which is four fewer than the number that participated in the initial stages for the 2024 edition. Teams will compete in two rounds of home and away matches to determine the 11 sides that will join the host nation at Wafcon 2026. The six top-ranked countries—Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia, Ghana, Cameroon, and Ivory Coast—have each received a direct entry into the second round. The first qualifying round is scheduled for February 2025, followed by the second round in October 2025. The Confederation of African Football has not yet disclosed the specific dates for the 2026 tournament. Botswana and DR Congo, both participants in the 2024 finals, face a challenging draw for the 2026 edition, potentially leading to their absence. They are drawn to play each other in the first preliminary round, with the victor advancing to face the current continental champions, South Africa. The 2024 Wafcon finals, which were postponed due to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, are now slated to be held in Morocco from 5-26 July 2025. The schedule for this 12-team event was only confirmed in June. Morocco, the North African nation, also served as the host for the 2022 finals. The first round fixtures are as follows: Angola v Zimbabwe Malawi v Congo-Brazzaville Botswana v DR Congo Tanzania v Equatorial Guinea Uganda v Ethiopia Eswatini v Namibia Burundi v Burkina Faso Djibouti v Togo South Sudan v Algeria Rwanda v Egypt Kenya v Tunisia Niger v The Gambia Benin v Sierra Leone Guinea v Cape Verde Gabon v Mali Chad v Senegal These home and away ties are scheduled to be held from 17-26 February 2025. The second round fixtures are: Angola or Zimbabwe v Malawi or Congo-Brazzaville Botswana or DR Congo v South Africa Tanzania or Equatorial Guinea v Uganda or Ethiopia Eswatini or Namibia v Zambia Burundi or Burkina Faso v Djibouti or Togo South Sudan or Algeria v Cameroon Rwanda or Egypt v Ghana Kenya or Tunisia v Niger or The Gambia Benin or Sierra Leone v Nigeria Guinea or Cape Verde v Gabon or Mali Chad or Senegal v Ivory Coast These home and away ties will be held from 20-28 October 2025.