Berths within the 2027 Girls’s World Cup and continental bragging rights will probably be up for grabs when 16 groups compete on the delayed Girls’s Africa Cup of Nations 2026.
The motion in Morocco begins on Sunday, 4 months after it was initially supposed to begin.
Really useful Tales
record of 4 gadgetsfinish of record
Nigeria will look to defend the title they gained a 12 months in the past, whereas Ghana, Zambia and Morocco are additionally among the many pre-tournament favourites.
With high-profile gamers such because the Zambian pair of Racheal Kundananji and Barbra Banda, and Nigeria’s Rasheedat Ajibade and Malawi’s Chawinga sisters, Tabitha and Temwa, set to characteristic, there is no such thing as a scarcity of world-class expertise within the match.
Right here’s every thing you want to find out about WAFCON 2026:
When does the WAFCON begin, and when is the ultimate?
The Confederation of African Soccer (CAF) Girls’s Africa Cup of Nations 2026 will start on Sunday, as Algeria face Senegal within the match opener, and hosts Morocco face Kenya on the identical day.
The ultimate will probably be performed on August 16 in Rabat, marking the conclusion of the 22-day match.
Group stage: July 26 to August 6
Quarterfinals: August 8 and 9
Semifinals: August 12
Playoffs: August 13
Last: August 16
The kickoff instances will probably be at 17:00 GMT and 20:00 GMT all through the match, apart from the ultimate, which will probably be at 19:00 GMT.
The WAFCON is held each two years, however logistical points pushed the 2024 version again by a 12 months to July 2025, leaving a shorter hole than traditional between tournaments.
Why was WAFCON rescheduled?
Initially, the match was resulting from be held from March 17 to April 3, however simply 12 days earlier than the beginning, CAF introduced it will be postponed resulting from “sure unexpected circumstances”.
Whereas CAF didn’t share additional particulars in regards to the motive for the postponement, information businesses, together with Reuters, reported that host nation Morocco pushed for a change in dates.
Hypothesis about Morocco’s willingness to host the match elevated after the on and off-field controversy that marred the boys’s AFCON ultimate in January, which Morocco misplaced 1-0 to Senegal in a dramatic contest in Rabat.
Two months later, nevertheless, CAF awarded Morocco a 3-0 victory due to a number of Senegal gamers leaving the pitch in protest on the award of a penalty.
The place is the match being held?
As was the case within the 2022 and 2024 editions, Morocco will once more host the WAFCON.
Matches will probably be held throughout 5 stadiums in two cities, Rabat and Casablanca.
⚽Moulay El Hassan Stadium (capability: 22,000) – Rabat
⚽Olympic Stadium (capability: 21,000) – Rabat
⚽Al Medina Stadium (capability: 18,000) – Rabat
⚽Larbi Zaouli Stadium (capability: 20,000) – Casablanca
⚽Moulay Rachid Stadium (capability: 25,000) – Casablanca
Initially, video games have been additionally scheduled to be held within the metropolis of Fez, however these have been moved to Casablanca.
The venue for the ultimate is but to be confirmed – it can both be the Moulay Hassan Stadium or the 69,500-seater Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat. The latter additionally hosted this 12 months’s males’s AFCON ultimate.
What number of groups are participating?
The match will characteristic 16 groups for the primary time, up from the 12-team format within the final two editions. This resolution to increase the format was introduced by CAF in November, solely 4 months earlier than the preliminary begin of the match and after the qualifying section had ended.
Thus, primarily based on the FIFA world rankings, the highest 4 groups from these eradicated within the ultimate qualifying spherical have been chosen to finish the record of members.
Right here’s how the nations are cut up into 4 teams:
⚽ Group A: Morocco, Algeria, Senegal, Kenya,
⚽ Group B: South Africa, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Tanzania
⚽ Group C: Nigeria, Zambia, Egypt, Malawi
⚽ Group D: Ghana, Cameroon, Mali, Cape Verde
Of the 16 certified groups, 9 additionally featured on the 2024 version.
Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tunisia, who certified in 2024, missed out this time, whereas Cape Verde and Malawi will make their first look within the match.
Cape Verde’s WAFCON debut comes shortly after their males’s staff achieved a historic last-32 finish on the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
What’s the match format?
The groups will play in a round-robin format, with the highest two from every group advancing to the knockout stage, which begins with the quarterfinals. The semifinals and the ultimate observe subsequent, whereas there are additionally two playoffs for the shedding semifinalists linked to World Cup qualification.
Within the knockout phases, if a match is degree on the finish of regular taking part in time, it can proceed to half-hour of additional time, adopted by penalties if obligatory.
How is the Girls’s World Cup qualification linked to WAFCON?
This version of WAFCON holds additional significance because it additionally serves as a qualifying competitors for subsequent 12 months’s Girls’s World Cup in Brazil.
All 4 WAFCON semifinalists will safe 2027 World Cup berths, whereas the shedding quarterfinalists will take part in playoff matches to find out the 2 African groups who will play within the FIFA inter-confederation playoffs.
Of the 16 members at WAFCON 2026, 4 have been on the 2023 Girls’s World Cup: Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa and Zambia.
Who’re the earlier WAFCON champions?
Nigeria are probably the most dominant pressure in African ladies’s soccer, having gained the WAFCON title a file 10 instances. Their title triumph on the 2024 version was dubbed as finishing “Mission X”.
Other than the mighty Nigerians, Equatorial Guinea gained as hosts of the 2008 and 2012 editions, and South Africa gained the 2022 version to grow to be the third nation to be topped champions.
Morocco, Ghana, and Cameroon are the one nations exterior of the earlier winners to have additionally made it to the WAFCON ultimate.
Who’re the favourites to win this 12 months?
As probably the most profitable African nation in ladies’s soccer, Nigeria stay the staff to beat because the Tremendous Falcons bid for a record-extending eleventh crown. They’re additionally the continent’s top-ranked facet.
However three-time finalists Ghana, who scored seven targets and conceded none in the course of the qualification section, are anticipated to provide the heavyweights a run for his or her cash.
Zambia, who additionally had a dominant show within the qualifiers and sealed a fourth consecutive WAFCON berth, are within the combine, whereas Morocco, runners-up on the final two editions, will as soon as once more look to show fervent dwelling assist into silverware.
Who’re the highest gamers in WAFCON 2026?
Lots of the stars on the match play membership soccer in Europe or the USA.
Zambia’s ahead Kundananji, who joined Bay FC within the American top-flight NWSL two years in the past for a then-world-record charge, has been a key a part of the Southern African nation’s rise lately. Her teammate Banda, the Zambia striker and captain, is extensively thought of one of many prime gamers in ladies’s soccer.
Followers also needs to be careful for the Chawinga sisters – Tabitha is a ahead for French membership Lyon, whereas her youthful sibling, Temwa, additionally performs in the identical place, for Kansas Metropolis Present. Temwa is a two-time NWSL MVP and Golden Boot winner.
PSG ahead Ajibade, the Participant of the Match within the final WAFCON, is a standout member of the reigning champions Nigeria, whereas Morocco’s veteran Ghizlane Chebbak, the highest scorer within the final version with 5 targets, is without doubt one of the greatest finishers in Africa and stays an influential a part of the facet.
What’s the prize cash for WAFCON?
The WAFCON 2026 champion will take dwelling $2m, double the prize cash of the final version. Nevertheless, it’s nonetheless considerably decrease than the $10m provided to this 12 months’s males’s AFCON champions.
The runners-up will decide up $750,000 – a rise of fifty % – whereas the general prize pot has elevated from $3.475m to $5.8m.
The place to purchase tickets and watch WAFCON?
Ticket gross sales for the match solely opened on Wednesday.
Followers should purchase tickets here. Class 3 tickets are priced at about $2, whereas Class 1 start at $5.
