CAF has announced the postponement of the 2026 AFCON finals, a few days before the tournament was set to kick off.
Initially slated for a March 17 kickoff, the WAFCON 2026 has been thrown into logistical disarray following a last-minute postponement by CAF. Morocco, hosting the tournament for the third edition running, was expected to welcome 16 teams next week; however, the competition has been pushed back to the July/August window.
The decision to move the showpiece less than a fortnight before its start date has drawn sharp criticism from stakeholders, with many questioning the ‘unforeseen circumstances’ cited for the delay.”
Participating teams, including Banyana Banyana, were already in camp preparing for the Morocco contest. South Africa were gearing up to reclaim the WAFCON crown they lifted for the first time in 2022, before surrendering it to Nigeria in the last edition in 2024.
WHEN WILL AFCON BE HELD?
CAF has moved the staging of the continental women’s flagship tournament between July 25 and August 16. However, the continental football governing body is yet to make it clear if Morocco will still remain as hosts the competition.
“After discussions between CAF and its partners, FIFA and other stakeholders, CAF decided to reschedule the dates of the TotalEnergies CAF WAFCON 2026, to 25 July – 16 August 2026; to ensure the success of this important women’s competition, in the light of certain unforeseen circumstances,” CAF announced in a statement on Thursday.
“Preparations for the TotalEnergies CAF WAFCON 2026 are underway and all the parties are confident that it will be very successful.”
‘DEEPLY CONCERNING WAFCON SITUATION: AFRICA SUFFERING BECAUSE OF SENEGAL?’
South African Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie has come out interrogating the WAFCON situation. The vocal minister has asked a question insinuating that Morocco might have been angry about what transpired in the 2025 AFCON final between them and Senegal.
“The situation surrounding the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations is deeply concerning. And we must ask a difficult question that many people are thinking, but few are willing to say out loud,” McKenzie said. “Are we all now being made to suffer because Senegal won the men’s AFCON? If Senegal had not won that final, would we still be sitting here with this uncertainty?
“But Morocco must accept that a game of football is just a game in the end. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. That match was decided by the smallest of margins – one penalty that did not go in.
“No country should be judged for losing a football match. But a country can be judged for how it responds afterwards, and one can only wonder if this situation would have been the same if Morocco had won the AFCON final.”
SOUTH AFRICA READY TO HOST 2026 WAFCON
McKenzie says South Africa is prepared to step in for Morocco as hosts.
“This is unfair to the teams preparing to compete, to the federations trying to plan, and most importantly to the women who have dedicated their lives to the sport,” he went on.
“And let me say this clearly: if circumstances require a solution, South Africa is prepared to step forward and assist in hosting the tournament. Our women deserve certainty, and they deserve respect. They deserve a tournament worthy of their dedication to the game.”
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