Major boost for women’s football: CAF expands WAFCON to 16 teams

The Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) is set for a significant expansion, with the Confederation of African Football (CAF) officially increasing the number of participating teams from 12 to 16.

This major boost for women’s football in Africa will take effect starting with the 2026 edition of the tournament.

CAF confirmed the decision in a circular to all member associations dated November 3, 2025, stating the expansion reflects the Executive Committee’s commitment to further develop and promote women’s football across the continent.

“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,” said CAF in a statement on Wednesday.

“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 Final Four: WAFCON Teams Added for 2026

Given that the qualification phase for the 2026 WAFCON is already complete, CAF outlined a special procedure to fill the four new spots. They will select the four highest-ranked teams on the current FIFA Women’s World Ranking from among those recently eliminated in the qualifiers.

As a result of this ruling, four additional nations will join the tournament: Cameroon (Ranked 66), Ivory Coast (Ranked 71), Mali (Ranked 79) and Egypt (Ranked 95).

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

This expansion is explicitly aimed at providing more opportunities for women’s national teams across the continent to gain international experience and visibility, aligning with the strong global growth trend observed in women’s football. The decision is set to intensify competition and broaden the reach of the continent’s premier women’s tournament.

In a statement, CAF added: “The decision is in line with CAF’s strategic vision to strengthen the competitiveness and development of women’s football on the African continent.

“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.”