THE Confederation of African Football (CAF) has increased the participating teams in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) to 16 teams.
Women’s football’s most important tournament on the continent began in 1998 with eight teams, and the last edition in 2025 had 12 nations, with the Super Falcons of Nigeria winning the trophy both times.
“The Executive Committee of the Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF) has approved the expansion of the TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) from 12 to 16 teams, starting with the next edition to be staged in Morocco from 17 March-3 April 2026,” the continental body stated today.
“As the qualification phase for the 2026 edition has already been completed, the Executive Committee has approved the selection mechanism to determine the four additional teams.
“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.
“The following teams will therefore join the finals of the TotalEnergies CAF WAFCON Morocco 2026: Cameroon (66th in the FIFA ranking), Cote d’Ivoire (71), Mali (79) and Egypt (95).
They are in addition to the 12 nations already qualified for the tournament: Morocco (host country), Zambia, Tanzania, Malawi, Algeria, Nigeria, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Cape Verde, South Africa and Senegal.”
The Super Falcons are the defending champions of the competition, after winning a record-breaking 10th title in Morocco in July.
“The decision is in line with CAF’s strategic vision to strengthen the competitiveness and development of women’s football on the African continent,” CAF added.
“This will allow more nations to participate in African women’s football’s flagship competition, contributing to its continued growth and global reach.
“The TotalEnergies CAF WAFCON also serves as the continental qualifier for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027 in Brazil.”
The four semi-finalists from the 2026 WAFCON will earn the tickets to represent Africa in Brazil.