CAF expands WAFCON from 12 to 16 teams

Boluwatife Kehinde
‎
‎The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has announced a significant development for women’s football on the continent, confirming the expansion of the TotalEnergies Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) from 12 to 16 teams.
‎
‎The newly expanded tournament will debut during the 2026 edition, scheduled to take place in Morocco from March 17 to April 3, 2026.
‎
‎In line with this change, Cameroon (66th in the FIFA rankings), Côte d’Ivoire (71st), Mali (79th), and Egypt (95th) have been added to the list of teams participating in the final tournament.
‎
‎According to a statement released by CAF on Wednesday, the decision is part of its long-term strategy to enhance competitiveness and promote the rapid growth of women’s football across Africa.
‎
‎“As the qualification phase for the 2026 edition has already concluded, the Executive Committee approved a selection process to determine the four additional teams,” CAF explained.
‎
‎“Using the current FIFA Women’s World Rankings, the top four teams that were eliminated in the final qualifying round have been selected to complete the list of participants. Therefore, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, and Egypt will join the tournament,” the statement added.
‎
‎These four nations will compete alongside the 12 teams that had already secured qualification: Morocco (hosts), Zambia, Tanzania, Malawi, Algeria, Nigeria, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Cape Verde, South Africa, and Senegal.
‎
The tournament’s expansion will give more African nations the opportunity to compete at the highest level.