The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has confirmed the final four nations that will complete the 16-team for the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in Morocco, with Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali and Egypt securing their places through the FIFA rankings route, www.aclsports.com reports.
The announcement follows a CAF statement issued on 3 November 2025, after the completion of qualifiers conducted under the previous 12-team format. With the competition expanding to sixteen nations from the 2026 edition, CAF stated that the highest-ranked sides eliminated in the final qualifying round would be reinstated to ensure fairness and competitive balance.
As a result, the quartet return to the continental stage after narrow defeats in the qualifying play-offs. Cameroon lost to Algeria, Côte d’Ivoire fell to Burkina Faso, Mali were edged by Equatorial Guinea and Egypt were beaten by Senegal, but their FIFA rankings now secure them a return to the finals.
The 2026 tournament will be held in Morocco from 17 March to 3 April and will also serve as Africa’s qualifier for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, with the top four teams earning tickets to Brazil.
The sixteen teams for the 2026 WAFCON: Morocco (hosts), joined by Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria (defending champions), Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia. They are joined by Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali and Egypt.
With the teams confirmed, all eyes now turn to Morocco for a historic 16-team WAFCON.
