The 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations will pick the first four African teams that will qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil. Two more teams will have a chance through a play-off tournament, FIFA has announced.
In a qualification guide released on its website on Sunday, FIFA said the tournament will take place from July 26 to August 16, 2026. This tournament will serve as Africa’s qualifying event for the expanded Women’s World Cup.
FIFA mentioned that 16 countries will take part in the tournament. The countries are Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zambia.
The teams will be split into four groups of four. The top two teams from each group will move on to the quarter-finals. FIFA stated that all four semi-finalists will automatically qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
“The CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations will serve as FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifiers. After a group stage with four groups of four, the top two teams of each group will qualify for the quarter-finals. All four semi-finalists will qualify for Brazil 2027,” FIFA said.
FIFA also added that the four teams losing in the quarter-finals will not be out of the qualification race. These teams will play in matches to find the two African teams that will qualify for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Play-Off Tournament.
According to FIFA, this play-off tournament will include 10 countries, two each from Africa, Asia, Concacaf, and South America, along with one each from Oceania and Europe. The first phase will happen in November and December 2026, while the final phase is set for February 2027.
“The six teams will be drawn into three paths, with a direct knockout match to find the final three teams qualifying for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027. Teams from the same confederation will not be allowed to be drawn in the same pathway,” FIFA explained.
Nigeria, the most successful women’s national team in Africa, is aiming for its 10th straight Women’s World Cup appearance. They have participated in every tournament since the first one in 1991. Ghana has been to three Women’s World Cups, while Cameroon and South Africa have qualified twice.
Morocco, Zambia, Côte d’Ivoire, and Equatorial Guinea have each participated once in the global tournament. The 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup will take place in Brazil from June 24 to July 25. This will be the first time the event is held in South America.
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