The Confederation of African Football postponed the 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations on Thursday, just 12 days before the tournament was set to begin in Morocco, citing unspecified "unforeseen circumstances" that forced organizers to push the competition back more than four months.
CAF said the tournament, originally scheduled to run March 17 to April 3, has been rescheduled to July 25 through Aug. 16. Morocco retains hosting rights for the competition, which also serves as a qualifier for the 2027 Women's World Cup in Brazil.
"CAF decided to reschedule the dates of the TotalEnergies CAF Women's Africa Cup of Nations 2026 to ensure the success of this important women's competition, in the light of certain unforeseen circumstances," the continental governing body said in a statement. It did not elaborate on what those circumstances were.
The postponement is the second time in 14 months that CAF has delayed a major continental tournament on short notice. In January 2025, the governing body postponed the African Nations Championship just 18 days before it was due to start across Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, citing concerns about infrastructure readiness. That tournament was eventually held in August.
Speculation about Morocco's willingness to host had circulated for weeks, fueled in part by chaotic scenes during the 2025 men's Africa Cup of Nations final, which Morocco lost 1-0 to Senegal at the Stade Moulay Abdellah stadium in Rabat. Reports of a potential hosting change had created anxiety among players and fans.
South African Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie had then addressed those concerns earlier this month when his deputy, Peace Mabe, publicly declared that South Africa would host the tournament after Morocco declined. "When Morocco said, 'we are not able to host,' [South Africa] said 'Yes, we are available.' We are going to take it," Mabe told SABC Sport. McKenzie later walked back his deputy's remarks, saying Morocco "remains the officially designated host" and that CAF had not yet triggered any alternative hosting process. He added that South Africa had expressed willingness to step in if required.
At a press conference earlier this week, McKenzie accused Morocco of holding the tournament "hostage in order to sabotage CAF president Patrice Motsepe," while reiterating South Africa's readiness to host.
Thursday's announcement did not name a new host, with CAF stating only that "preparations for the tournament are underway" and that "all parties are confident that it will be very successful."
The group stage draw for the expanded 16-team tournament had already been conducted Jan. 15, though CAF had not yet published the full match schedule.
The 2020 Women's Africa Cup of Nations was canceled entirely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the 2024 edition, won by Nigeria, was held in July 2024 only after scheduling conflicts arising from the Paris Olympics delayed the competition.
Morocco was set to stage a third consecutive edition of the finals before the latest disruption.
