The latest expansion means that the 2026 showpiece will have twice the number that featured in the inaugural 1991 edition.
The Confederation of African Football, CAF has expanded the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations tournament to 16 nations, up from the 12 nations that were originally billed to compete in the Morocco showpiece early next year. The continental football governing body confirmed the expansion last weekend, according to numerous media sources, including the BBC.
The confirmation ends weeks of speculation on a possible increase in the number of participating teams. it marks the third time that the competition is getting expanded since the inaugural edition was staged in 1991. The women’s Africa Cup of Nations which has been Africa’s flagship women’s national football team competition since its introduction, flagged off as an eight-team event in 1991.
It was held as an eight-nation showpiece until 2022 when Morocco hosted the first ever 12-nation version. Ghana hosted the last eight-team edition in 2018, the 2020 showpiece having been cancelled due to the Coronavirus pandemic. According to African football pundits, the recent expansion is expected to affect the previous format that had been put in place for the qualifiers to the 2026 tournament.
The qualifying series to the 2026 showpiece is presently in the second and final round with 22 nations set to battle for 11 qualification tickets that will hand them a pass to join Morocco which is automatically qualified as the host nation. Sources say the increase is likely to oblige CAF to introduce a third round in the qualifiers to determine the 15 nations that will finally qualify to join Morocco.
The increase in the number of participating teams comes barely a year after CAF increased the prize money of the competition by 45% in the leadup to the 2025 edition with took place in Morocco with Nigeria bagging a winner’s prize of one million United States Dollars. CAF president Patrice Motsepe told reporters in a declaration after confirming the expansion that the increase in the number of participants is in line with the institution’s strides in continuously developing football across the African continent. “I am pleased with the progress we’ve made in women’s African football.
Part of my starting point is making sure (men and women) are paid well and they can make a career out of football. I can assure you women’s football will continue to improve because that is an area we are focusing on a lot,” Motsepe stated as quoted by BBC Sport.
