CAF Confirms Expansion of WAFCON to 16 Teams, Adds Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, and Egypt

(Photo by CAF media)

CAF has confirmed that the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) will expand from 12 to 16 teams, starting with the next edition, scheduled to take place in Morocco from 17 March to 3 April 2026.

As the qualification phase for the 2026 edition has already been completed, the CAF 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 tournament lineup. The newly added teams are Cameroon (66th), Côte d’Ivoire (71st), Mali (79th), and Egypt (95th).

These teams join the 12 nations already qualified: Morocco (host country), Zambia, Tanzania, Malawi, Algeria, Nigeria, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Cape Verde, South Africa, and Senegal.

“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 said.

“This will allow more nations to participate in African women’s football’s flagship competition, contributing to its continued growth and global reach.”

The 2026 WAFCON will also serve as the continental qualifier for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027 in Brazil.

Calvin Kaumba Chikenge November 5, 2025

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Calvin Kaumba Chikenge is an award-winning Zambian multimedia sports journalist well known for his exclusive stories and feature writing. He was voted 2023/24 MTN/FAZ Super League journalist of the year. In addition to reporting on sports for Spring TV, he interned for the Zambia Daily Mail newspaper. He is the current Ballon d'Or juror and has contributed to numerous international publications, including the Guardian in the UK, and is the editor of BolaNews.