South Africa Clarifies No Confirmed Role as 2026 WAFCON Host
South Africa’s Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, has firmly dismissed reports that his country stands confirmed as the new host for the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), insisting Morocco retains its official designation just weeks before the tournament opener.
McKenzie issued the clarification in a statement on Monday, directly addressing remarks from Deputy Minister Peace Mabe made at the Hollywoodbets Super League Awards on Sunday. Mabe had stated there that Morocco had withdrawn as host five weeks out and South Africa was stepping in to take over, according to reports from the event. “South Africa has only indicated its willingness to support CAF if alternative hosting arrangements become necessary,” McKenzie said, describing such offers as standard in the Confederation of African Football’s (CAF) contingency planning for major events.
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The minister stressed that no formal decision exists to shift the tournament from Morocco, where it is set to run from March 17 to April 3 across venues in Rabat, Casablanca, and Fez. “At this stage, no formal decision has been taken to relocate the tournament, and Morocco remains the official designated host of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations. CAF has not activated any alternative hosting process,” the statement read. McKenzie noted that hosting in South Africa would demand CAF’s formal approval, cabinet clearance, and verified readiness of venues and infrastructure.
CAF confirmed Morocco as host on October 17, 2024, marking the North African nation’s third straight edition and joining Nigeria and South Africa as the only countries to host WAFCON three times. The 2026 event expands to 16 teams for the first time, up from 12 in recent years, with qualification wrapping up in late 2025 by adding the four highest-ranked losers from the final round based on FIFA rankings. Nigeria enter as defending champions after their 3-2 victory over Morocco in the 2024 final, while the top four finishers will qualify directly for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Morocco’s recent finals runs—runners-up in 2022 to South Africa (2-1) and in 2024 to Nigeria—underscore their growing stature in women’s football, bolstered by hosting duties that drew record crowds like 45,562 for the 2022 Morocco-Nigeria semi-final. The tournament, now sponsored as TotalEnergies WAFCON, traces to 1998 as a full biennial event after earlier qualification formats, evolving from eight teams to the current expanded field amid CAF’s push for women’s game growth.
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WAFCON hosting has rotated across Africa since Nigeria launched the modern format in 1998, winning the first title 2-0 over Ghana. South Africa followed in 2000, though the final against Nigeria was abandoned amid crowd trouble; they hosted again in 2004 and 2010, building a legacy with their 2022 triumph. Nigeria hosted three straight early editions (1998, 2002, 2006), dominating with five consecutive titles before Equatorial Guinea broke through as hosts in 2008 and 2012.
Other nations like Namibia (2014), Cameroon (2016), and Ghana (2018) have taken turns, with the 2020 edition cancelled due to COVID-19. Morocco’s back-to-back successes in 2022 and 2024, both as hosts, position them for a historic hat-trick in 2026, aligning with CAF’s infrastructure focus despite no verified withdrawal reports to date.