Zambia coach Nora Hauptle reacts to tough WAFCON group

Head coach of Zambia’s female senior team Nora Hauptle has reacted to the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations Draw held in Morocco on Friday.

The Copper Queens have been paired in Group C alongside current champions Nigeria, Egypt and debutants Malawi for the expanded tournament that kicks off on March 17 to April 3 across four venues in Rabat, one in Casablanca and the other in Fez for the sixteen day tournament.

Nora Hauptle who once managed the Ghana senior female team admitted that Zambia has a lot of work to do to qualify out of the group.

“We have a very tough group with Nigeria current champions and also Malawi, don’t underrate Malawi so I think when we succeed in this group we can get stronger in the knockout and then let’s see if we will face Ghana or not,” Nora Hauptle told Joy Sports at the mixed zone after the draw in Morocco.

“Last time we lost against Nigeria the current champions so this time we will face them already in the group stage [and] I am happy that we face them a bit early [and] I think it’s just fine for a good tactical key and I think if we survive in this group we can get stronger in the next stage so I am happy to face them again, it’s me and I like the challenge and I like to do it again, it’s football and sometimes you fail and you need to take the right decisions to get up and that’s what we are going to do.”

Hosts Morocco have been paired against 2024 quarterfinalists Algeria, Senegal who made the quarter finals in 2022 and 2024 as well as East Africans Kenya in Group A.

The Group B has 2022 champions South Africa, 2014 second runners-up Cote D’Ivoire alongside Burkina Faso and Tanzania.

Nine countries out of the sixteen qualified teams participated at the last competition in Morocco with Tunisia, DR Congo and Botswana missing out. Two countries, Cape Verde and Malawi, are making their debut appearance in the finals this time around. Morocco is hosting the tournament for the third consecutive time.

The tournament format will see the top two teams from each group progress to the knockout phase, starting from the quarter-finals. The competition will also serve as part of the qualification for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Brazil 2027. The competition is set between March 17 and April 3.

2026 WAFCON Draw

Group A: Morocco (hosts), 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

⚽ Follow Pan-Africa Football across platforms for real-time news and stories.