Women’s Africa Cup of Nations postponed just days before it was due to start

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has officially confirmed the postponement of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) to July-August 2026, ending weeks of speculation regarding its original schedule.

The tournament, initially set for March 17 to April 3, was rescheduled after host nation Morocco requested a change due to "unforeseen circumstances."

CAF stated: "After discussions between CAF and its partners, FIFA and other stakeholders, CAF decided to reschedule the dates of the TotalEnergies CAF WAFCON 2026, to 25 July – 16 August 2026 to ensure the success of this important women’s competition, in the light of certain unforeseen circumstances."

The organisation added that "preparations for the TotalEnergies CAF WAFCON 2026 are underway and all the parties are confident that it will be very successful."

This competition serves as a crucial preliminary for the 2027 Women’s World Cup, offering four automatic qualification spots for African teams and two more places in the inter-continental qualifiers.

The upcoming finals will feature an expanded 16-team format for the first time.

Nigeria are the defending champions, having lifted the trophy at the 2024 edition, which had also been postponed.

WAFCON being rescheduled comes weeks after a chaotic end to the men’s tournament that was also staged in Morocco.

Senegal played the hosts in the final and had a potential winning goal disallowed in the closing stages of the match, before Morocco were awarded a controversial stoppage-time penalty.

Senegal responded by staging a walk-off protest that lasted almost 20 minutes before they eventually returned to the pitch.

Brahim Diaz missed the penalty for Morocco as the final went to extra time.

Senegal went on to win the match 1-0 after extra time, with Papa Gueye netting the winning goal.

Senegal returned to a hero’s welcome in Dakar, while Morocco vowed to pursue legal action after the controversial end to the tournament.

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