Few nations have embraced women’s football with the consistency Morocco has shown over the past four years. By hosting the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, Morocco became the first country to stage three straight editions, following successful tournaments in 2022 and 2024. That continuity, according to FIFA president Gianni Infantino, has helped turn WAFCON into one of the standout events on the women’s football calendar, and he described the 2026 edition as a “huge, huge success” for the sport across the continent.
This year’s tournament expanded to 16 teams, up from 12 in 2022 and just 8 in earlier cycles, making it the largest WAFCON field in history. The competition ran from 26 July to 16 August, shifted from its original March–April slot to a summer window that gave it wider global visibility. Morocco qualified automatically as host, a status that has kept the national team consistently engaged with elite competition. Much of that consistent engagement traces back to the Mohammed VI Football Academy, which has long served as a pipeline for developing elite Moroccan talent.
The infrastructure behind the tournament reflected that ambition. Matches were played across five stadiums in Rabat and Casablanca, including the newly rebuilt Moulay El Hassan Stadium, which hosted the final. CAF and FIFA officials praised the Moroccan Football Association and national authorities for managing the logistics of a multi-venue tournament at this scale, calling it proof of a growing operational legacy in women’s football hosting.
On the field, competition sharpened. Prize money for the winner has grown from roughly $150,000 to $1 million over five years, a sign of rapid professionalization. With the tournament also serving as a qualifying route to the 2027 World Cup in Brazil, the stakes were unusually high.
Cameroon claimed its first WAFCON title in Rabat, while Malawi reached its first-ever final. Morocco and Algeria both secured World Cup berths through the semifinals, underlining North Africa’s growing strength in the women’s game.
For Infantino, the tournament’s blend of infrastructure, competitiveness, and rising financial investment captured exactly where African women’s football is heading—and why Morocco’s hosting model may become a template for future editions.
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