2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations qualification
International football competition
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The 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations qualification was a women's football competition to determine the teams joining the automatically qualified host Morocco in the 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations final tournament.[1]
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 19 February – 28 October 2025 |
| Teams | 36 (from 1 confederation) |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 50 |
| Goals scored | 131 (2.62 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Ghoutia Karchouni Adèle Kabré Doris Boaduwaa Racheal Kundananji(4 goals each) |
← 2024 2028 → | |
Though CAF planned for a final tournament of 12 teams,[1] reports surfaced in early October 2025 that the final tournament would be expanded to 16 teams.[2] CAF apparently refuted those reports on 25 October by clarifying that 11 teams would qualify,[3] but announced on 3 November that the four teams defeated in the second round that were ranked highest in the FIFA Women's World Ranking of 7 August 2025 would also play in the final tournament.[4]
Format
The African qualifiers commenced in February 2025 and featured two rounds of competition. In the first round, the 32 teams ranked 7th and below played home-and-away two-legged ties. The 16 winners advanced to the second round, where they were joined by the six teams that received a bye. The winners of the 11 second round home-and-away ties qualified for the final tournament in Morocco. After the completion of the second round, CAF announced four additional teams had qualified based on their FIFA ranking.[4]
Schedule
| Round | Dates |
|---|---|
| First round | 19–26 February 2025 |
| Second round | 22–28 October 2025 |
Entrants
Fifty-two CAF national women's teams were eligible to enter qualification as Morocco had already qualified as hosts, though only 38 teams registered. The six teams ranked highest in the FIFA Women's World Ranking were given a bye to the second round, and the next 16 highest-ranked teams were seeded in the first round and played the second leg at home.[5]
| Team | Rank |
|---|---|
 Morocco | 59 |
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- Teams in bold qualified for the final tournament
| Team | Rank |
|---|---|
 Central African Republic | 144 |
 Liberia | 165 |
 Seychelles | 170 |
 Mozambique | 171 |
 Lesotho | 176 |
 Guinea-Bissau | 177 |
 Comoros | 188 |
 Madagascar | 190 |
 Mauritius | 194 |
 Libya | NR |
 Eritrea | NR |
 Sudan | NR |
 Mauritania | NR |
 São Tomé and Príncipe | NR |
Pots
The 32 teams playing in the first round were allocated into six pots based on a combination of their FIFA Ranking and geographical considerations, with neighboring zones paired together where possible according to the number of teams. The seedings, pots, and draw procedure were confirmed by CAF on 12 December 2024.[5][6]
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Draw
The draw for the 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations Qualifiers took place on 12 December 2024 at 12:00 GMT.
First round
Summary
| Team 1 | Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Angola  | 3–3 (5–4 p) |  Zimbabwe | 2–1 | 1–2 |
Malawi  | w/o |  Congo | — | — |
Botswana  | 0–2 |  DR Congo | 0–2 | 0–0 |
Tanzania  | 4–2 |  Equatorial Guinea | 3–1 | 1–1 |
Uganda  | 2–2 (4–5 p) |  Ethiopia | 2–0 | 0–2 |
Eswatini  | 0–4 |  Namibia | 0–3 | 0–1 |
Burundi  | 1–5 | Burkina Faso | 0–1 | 1–4 |
Djibouti  | 0–10 |  Togo | 0–5 | 0–5 |
South Sudan  | 0–8 | Algeria | 0–5 | 0–3 |
Rwanda  | 2–3 |  Egypt | 0–1 | 2–2 |
Kenya  | 1–0 |  Tunisia | 0–0 | 1–0 |
Niger  | 1–4 |  Gambia | 0–2 | 1–2 |
Benin  | 5–2 |  Sierra Leone | 2–1 | 3–1 |
Guinea  | 3–6 |  Cape Verde | 2–2 | 1–4 |
Gabon  | 1–10 |  Mali | 0–6 | 1–4 |
Chad  | w/o |  Senegal | — | — |
Matches
3–3 on aggregate. Angola won 5–4 on penalties.
Malawi won on walkover and advanced to the second round after Congo withdrew prior to the first leg due to a lack of competitions and preparation.[7]
DR Congo won 2–0 on aggregate.
Tanzania won 4–2 on aggregate.
2–2 on aggregate. Ethiopia won 5–4 on penalties.
Namibia won 4–0 on aggregate.
| Burundi | 0–1 | Burkina Faso |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
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| Burkina Faso | 4–1 | Burundi |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
Burkina Faso won 5–1 on aggregate.
Togo won 10–0 on aggregate.
| South Sudan | 0–5 | Algeria |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Algeria | 3–0 | South Sudan |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
Algeria won 8–0 on aggregate.
Egypt won 3–2 on aggregate.
Kenya won 1–0 on aggregate.
Gambia won 4–1 on aggregate.
| Benin | 2–1 | Sierra Leone |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Sierra Leone | 1–3 | Benin |
|---|---|---|
K. Z. Brima  90+6' |
Report |
Benin won 5–2 on aggregate.
Cape Verde won 6–3 on aggregate.
Mali won 10–1 on aggregate.
Senegal won on walkover and advanced to the second round after Chad withdrew prior to the first leg due to delays in the disbursement process of the funds needed for match preparations and lack of funding.[8]
Second round
Summary
| Team 1 | Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Angola | 0–2 | Malawi | 0–0 | 0–2 |
| DR Congo | 1–2 |  South Africa | 1–1 | 0–1 |
| Tanzania | 3–0 | Ethiopia | 2–0 | 1–0 |
| Namibia | 2–7 | Zambia | 2–4 | 0–3 |
| Burkina Faso | 3–0 | Togo | 2–0 | 1–0 |
| Algeria | 3–1 |  Cameroon | 2–1 | 1–0 |
| Egypt | 0–7 | Ghana | 0–3 | 0–4 |
| Kenya | 4–1 | Gambia | 3–1 | 1–0 |
| Benin | 1–3 |  Nigeria | 0–2 | 1–1 |
| Cape Verde | 4–3 | Mali | 0–1 | 4–2 |
| Senegal | 0–0 (5–4 p) |  Ivory Coast | 0–0 | 0–0 |
Matches
| Malawi | 2–0 | Angola |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) |
Malawi won 2–0 on aggregate.
| DR Congo | 1–1 | South Africa |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) |
|
South Africa won 2–1 on aggregate.
| Tanzania | 2–0 | Ethiopia |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) |
| Ethiopia | 0–1 | Tanzania |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) | Msewa 15' |
Tanzania won 3–0 on aggregate.
| Namibia | 2–4 | Zambia |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) |
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| Zambia | 3–0 | Namibia |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) |
Zambia won 7–2 on aggregate.
| Burkina Faso | 2–0 | Togo |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) |
| Togo | 0–1 | Burkina Faso |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) |
|
Burkina Faso won 3–0 on aggregate.
| Cameroon | 0–1 | Algeria |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) |
|
Algeria won 3–1 on aggregate.
| Ghana | 4–0 | Egypt |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) |
Ghana won 7–0 on aggregate.
| Gambia | 0–1 | Kenya |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) |
|
Kenya won 4–1 on aggregate.
| Nigeria | 1–1 | Benin |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) |
|
Nigeria won 3–1 on aggregate.
| Cape Verde | 0–1 | Mali |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) | C. Dembele 81' |
| Mali | 2–4 | Cape Verde |
|---|---|---|
|
Report Report (FIFA) |
Cape Verde won 4–3 on aggregate.
0–0 on aggregate. Senegal won 5–4 on penalties.
Repechage
Qualified teams
The following teams qualified for the final tournament.
| Team | Qualified as | Qualified on | Previous appearances in Women's Africa Cup of Nations1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morocco | Hosts | 17 October 2024 | 4 (1998, 2000, 2022, 2024) |
| Zambia | Second round winners | 26 October 2025 | 4 (2014, 2018, 2022, 2024) |
| Tanzania | 28 October 2025 | 2 (2010, 2024) | |
| Malawi | 0 (debut) | ||
| Algeria | 6 (2004, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2024) | ||
| Nigeria | 13 (1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2022, 2024) | ||
| Ghana | 11 (1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2024) | ||
| Burkina Faso | 1 (2022) | ||
| Kenya | 1 (2016) | ||
| South Africa | 13 (1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2022, 2024) | ||
| Cape Verde | 0 (debut) | ||
| Senegal | 3 (2012, 2022, 2024) | ||
| Cameroon | Second round lucky losers | 3 November 2025 | 12 (1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2022) |
| Ivory Coast | 2 (2012, 2014) | ||
| Mali | 8 (2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2016, 2018, 2024) | ||
| Egypt | 2 (1998, 2016) |
- 1 Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.
Goalscorers
There were 131 goals scored in 50 matches, for an average of 2.62 goals per match.
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
Marine Dafeur- Laura Taleb Muller
Varsénia da Luz- Ivânia Moreira
Habiba Essam
Mwanalima Adam Jereko
Faith Chinzimu
Oumou Kone- Aïssata Traoré
Ivone Kooper
Usanase Zawadi
Enekia Kasonga- Diana Msewa
Koudjoukalo Sama- Mafille Woedikou
1 goal
- Léa Abadou
- Naïma Bouhani
Marguérite Ahouassou- Yasminath Djibril
- Germaine Honfo
Adama Congo- Charlotte Millogo
- Rasmata Sawadogo
- Madina Traoré
Esperance Habonimana
Ajara Nchout- Melany Fortes
- Larissa Melo
- Eleia Vieira
Ruth Kipoyi- Gloria Mabomba
- Menna Tarek
Dorine Chuigoué- Shalma Midje
Etsegenet Girma- Aregash Kalsa
Laschwana Assengone
Mbassey Darboe- Fatou Sonko
Mary Amponsah- Grace Asantewaa
- Comfort Yeboah
Aminata Camara- Marie Camara
- Fasila Adhiambo
- Terry Engesha
- Shalyne Opisa
- Coumba Dembele
- Fatou Dembele
- Salimata Diarra
- Fatoumata Niakaté
- Coulouba Sogoré
- Aïssata Tapily
- Juliana Blou
- Zenatha Coleman
- Hilma Kanyama
- Fiola Vliete
Faouzia Ahmed Sidi
Chinwendu Ihezuo- Esther Okoronkwo
- Ashleigh Plumptre
Kadiatu Abdulai Kamara- Kumba Zainab Brima
Thembi Kgatlana- Kgalebane Mohlakoana
- Stumai Athumani
- Jamila Mnunduka
- Aisha Mnunka
- Nathalie Badate
- Amiratou N'djambara
- Afi Rifela Dogli
Fazila Ikwaput- Zainah Namuleme
Prisca Chilufya- Racheal Nachula
- Eneless Phiri
Ethel Chinyerere- Christabel Katona
- Ruvimbo Mucherera
1 own goal
Lone Gaofetoge (against DR Congo)- Ivania Moreira (against Guinea)
Dorka Lokeri (against Algeria)