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2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations qualification

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2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations qualification
Tournament details
Dates17 February 2025 (2025-02-17) – 28 October 2025 (2025-10-28)
Teams38 (from 1 confederation)
← 2024
2028 →

The 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations qualification is a women's football competition that will determine the 11 teams joining the automatically qualified host Morocco in the 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations final tournament.[1]

Format

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The African qualifiers are set to commence in February 2025 and will feature two rounds of competition. In the first round, the 32 teams ranked 7th and below will play home-and-away two-legged ties. The 16 winners will advance to the second round, where they will be joined by the 6 teams that received a bye. The winners of the 11 second round home-and-away ties will qualify for the final tournament in Morocco.

Tiebreakers

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If the aggregate score is tied after the second leg, the away goals rule will have been applied, and if still tied, a penalty shoot-out will be held (no extra time).[2][needs update]

Schedule

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Round Dates
First round 19–26 February 2025
Second round 20–28 October 2025

Entrants

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All 53 CAF national teams were eligible to enter the competition; however, excluding Morocco, who qualified automatically as hosts of the final tournament, 38 teams registered for the qualifying tournament. The six highest-ranked teams based on FIFA rankings received a bye to the second round. In the first round, the teams are split into 16 higher-ranked and 16 less-ranked.[3]

Final tournament hosts
Team Rank
 Morocco 59
Teams entering qualifying rounds
Bye to second round
Team Rank
 Nigeria 36
 South Africa 50
 Zambia 62
 Ghana 66
 Cameroon 69
 Ivory Coast 71
First round seeded teams
Team Rank
 Tunisia 78
 Mali 81
 Equatorial Guinea 82
 Senegal 83
 Algeria 84
 Egypt 93
 DR Congo 102
 Congo 112
 Togo 120
 Ethiopia 123
 Zimbabwe 124
 Namibia 125
 Gambia 127
 Cape Verde 130
 Burkina Faso 136
 Sierra Leone 141
First round unseeded teams
Team Rank
 Guinea 142
 Gabon 143
 Tanzania 145
 Angola 148
 Uganda 150
 Kenya 151
 Benin 152
 Botswana 153
 Malawi 156
 Niger 166
 Rwanda 167
 Burundi 178
 Eswatini 182
 South Sudan 192
 Chad NR
 Djibouti NR
Did not enter
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

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The 38 teams were allocated into six pots based on their FIFA Ranking (three pots of the highest-ranked teams and three of the 16 lower-ranked teams), as well as regional 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.[3][4]

Pot 1 / Unseeded
(COSAFA & CECAFA)
Team Rank
 Angola 151
 Botswana 153
 Malawi 156
 Eswatini 182
 Tanzania 145
 Uganda 148
Pot 2 / Seeded
(COSAFA, CECAFA & UNIFFAC)
Team Rank
 Ethiopia 124
 Zimbabwe 127
 Namibia 122
 Equatorial Guinea 82
 DR Congo 109
 Congo 112
Pot 3 / Unseeded
(CECAFA)
Team Rank
 Kenya 149
 Rwanda 168
 Burundi 178
 South Sudan 193
 Djibouti NR
Pot 4 / Seeded
(UNAF & WAFU B)
Team Rank
 Tunisia 78
 Algeria 84
 Egypt 92
 Togo 120
 Burkina Faso 137
Pot 5 / Unseeded
(WAFU & UNIFFAC)
Team Rank
 Guinea 142
 Benin 152
 Niger 167
 Gabon 143
 Chad NR
Pot 6 / Seeded
(WAFU A)
Team Rank
 Mali 81
 Senegal 83
 Gambia 126
 Cape Verde 129
 Sierra Leone 141

Draw

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The draw for the 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations Qualifiers took place on 12 December 2024 at 12:00 GMT.

First round

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Summary

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Team 1Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Angola  Zimbabwe20 Feb26 Feb
Malawi w/o Congo——
Botswana  DR Congo20 Feb26 Feb
Tanzania  Equatorial Guinea20 Feb26 Feb
Uganda  Ethiopia21 Feb26 Feb
Eswatini  Namibia21 Feb26 Feb
Burundi  Burkina Faso21 Feb26 Feb
Djibouti  Togo21 Feb26 Feb
South Sudan  Algeria19 Feb25 Feb
Rwanda  Egypt21 Feb25 Feb
Kenya  Tunisia21 Feb26 Feb
Niger  Gambia19 Feb24 Feb
Benin  Sierra Leone20 Feb26 Feb
Guinea  Cape Verde21 Feb26 Feb
Gabon  Mali20 Feb25 Feb
Chad  Senegal21 Feb26 Feb

Matches

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Angola v Zimbabwe
Report
Zimbabwe v Angola
Report
Malawi Cancelled Congo
Report
Congo Cancelled Malawi
Report

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.[5]

Botswana v DR Congo
Report
DR Congo v Botswana
Report
Tanzania v Equatorial Guinea
Report
Equatorial Guinea v Tanzania
Report
Uganda v Ethiopia
Report
Ethiopia v Uganda
Report
Eswatini v Namibia
Report
Namibia v Eswatini
Report
Burundi v Burkina Faso
Report
Burkina Faso v Burundi
Report
Djibouti v Togo
Report
Togo v Djibouti
Report
South Sudan v Algeria
Report
Algeria v South Sudan
Report
Rwanda v Egypt
Report
Egypt v Rwanda
Report
Kenya v Tunisia
Report
Tunisia v Kenya
Report
Niger v Gambia
Report
Gambia v Niger
Report
Benin v Sierra Leone
Report
Sierra Leone v Benin
Report
Guinea v Cape Verde
Report
Cape Verde v Guinea
Report
Gabon v Mali
Report
Mali v Gabon
Report
Chad v Senegal
Report
Senegal v Chad
Report

Second round

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Summary

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Team 1Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Winner T1 (Angola v Zimbabwe) MalawiOct '25Oct '25
Winner T3 (Botswana v DR Congo) South AfricaOct '25Oct '25
Winner T4 (Tanzania v Eq. Guinea)Winner T5 (Uganda v Ethiopia)Oct '25Oct '25
Winner T6 (Eswatini v Namibia) ZambiaOct '25Oct '25
Winner T7 (Burundi v Burkina Faso)Winner T8 (Djibouti v Togo)Oct '25Oct '25
Winner T9 (South Sudan v Algeria) CameroonOct '25Oct '25
Winner T10 (Rwanda v Egypt) GhanaOct '25Oct '25
Winner T11 (Kenya v Tunisia)Winner T12 (Niger v Gambia)Oct '25Oct '25
Winner T13 (Benin v Sierra Leone) NigeriaOct '25Oct '25
Winner T14 (Guinea v Cape Verde)Winner T15 (Gabon v Mali)Oct '25Oct '25
Winner T16 (Chad v Senegal) Ivory CoastOct '25Oct '25

Matches

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Angola/Zimbabwev Malawi
Malawi vAngola/Zimbabwe
Botswana/DR Congov South Africa
South Africa vBotswana/DR Congo
Tanzania/Equatorial GuineavUganda/Ethiopia
Uganda/EthiopiavTanzania/Equatorial Guinea
Eswatini/Namibiav Zambia
Zambia vEswatini/Namibia
Burundi/Burkina FasovDjibouti/Togo
Djibouti/TogovBurundi/Burkina Faso
South Sudan/Algeriav Cameroon
Cameroon vSouth Sudan/Algeria
Rwanda/Egyptv Ghana
Ghana vRwanda/Egypt
Kenya/TunisiavNiger/Gambia
Niger/GambiavKenya/Tunisia
Benin/Sierra Leonev Nigeria
Nigeria vBenin/Sierra Leone
Guinea/Cape VerdevGabon/Mali
Gabon/MalivGuinea/Cape Verde
Chad/Senegalv Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast vChad/Senegal

References

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  1. ^ "TotalEnergies CAF Women's Africa Cup of Nations 2026: 38 Nations Begin the Road to Glory in Morocco". CAFOnline.com. 12 December 2024. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  2. ^ "Regulations of the Women Africa Cup of Nations" (PDF). CAFOnline.com. 29 February 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  3. ^ a b "CAF to conduct TotalEnergies Women's Africa Cup of Nations Qualifiers Draw on Thursday". CAFOnline.com. 10 December 2024. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  4. ^ "PROCEDURES OF THE DRAW OF THE QUALIFERS OF THE WOMEN AFRICA CUP OF NATIONS 2026" (PDF). CAFOnline.com. 10 December 2024. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  5. ^ Kegengo, Dennis (4 February 2025). "WAFCON Qualifiers: Malawi through to next round after Congo confirm exit". Pan-Africa Football.
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