Women’s Africa Cup of Nations 2026: What to know about the tournament Tournament format, venues, title favourites, groups, prize money and players to watch at the 2026 WAFCON in Morocco. Berths in the 2027 Women’s World Cup and continental bragging rights will be up for grabs when 16 teams compete at the delayed Women’s Africa Cup of Nations 2026. The action in Morocco begins on Sunday, four months after it was initially supposed to start.

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The Confederation of African Football (CAF) Women’s Africa Cup of Nations 2026 will begin on Sunday, as Algeria face Senegal in the tournament opener, and hosts Morocco face Kenya on the same day. The final will be played on August 16 in Rabat, marking the conclusion of the 22-day tournament. Group stage: July 26 to August 6 Quarterfinals: August 8 and 9 Semifinals: August 12 Playoffs: August 13 Final: August 16 The kickoff times will be at 17:00 GMT and 20:00 GMT throughout the tournament, except for the final, which will be at 19:00 GMT.

The WAFCON is held every two years, but logistical issues pushed the 2024 edition back by a year to July 2025, leaving a shorter gap than usual between tournaments. Why was WAFCON rescheduled? Initially, the tournament was due to be held from March 17 to April 3, but just 12 days before the start, CAF announced it would be postponed due to “certain unforeseen circumstances”.

While CAF did not share further details about the reason for the postponement, news agencies, including Reuters, reported that host nation Morocco pushed for a change in dates. Speculation about Morocco’s willingness to host the tournament increased after the on and off-field controversy that marred the men’s AFCON final in January, which Morocco lost 1-0 to Senegal in a dramatic contest in Rabat. Two months later, however, CAF awarded Morocco a 3-0 victory because of several Senegal players leaving the pitch in protest at the award of a penalty.

Where is the tournament being held? As was the case in the 2022 and 2024 editions, Morocco will again host the WAFCON. Matches will be held across five stadiums in two cities, Rabat and Casablanca.

⚽Moulay El Hassan Stadium (capacity: 22,000) – Rabat ⚽Olympic Stadium (capacity: 21,000) – Rabat ⚽Al Medina Stadium (capacity: 18,000) – Rabat ⚽Larbi Zaouli Stadium (capacity: 20,000) – Casablanca ⚽Moulay Rachid Stadium (capacity: 25,000) – Casablanca Initially, games were also scheduled to be held in the city of Fez, but those have been moved to Casablanca.