The Confederation of African Football has selected four additional nations to join the 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations based on FIFA world rankings after expanding the tournament from 12 to 16 participants. Cameroon, Egypt, the Ivory Coast and Mali earned their spots as the highest-ranked teams among those eliminated during the second qualifying round. Nigeria, the defending champions, had already qualified along with 10 other nations during the preliminaries held last month.
The expanded lineup brings back several nations after lengthy absences from the continental championship. Cameroon, ranked 66th globally and a three-time finalist, last competed in 2022. Mali finished in the quarterfinals at the 2024 tournament. Both the Ivory Coast and Egypt will return after missing multiple editions, with their last appearances coming in 2014 and 2016, respectively.
Morocco will host the tournament, which FIFA has tentatively scheduled to run from March 17 through April 3. The confederation has yet to announce when the draw will occur. The top four finishers at the competition will secure berths for the 2027 Women's World Cup, while the four quarterfinalists who lose will compete in an inter-confederation playoff for two additional World Cup places.
The expanded lineup brings back several nations after lengthy absences from the continental championship. Cameroon, ranked 66th globally and a three-time finalist, last competed in 2022. Mali finished in the quarterfinals at the 2024 tournament. Both the Ivory Coast and Egypt will return after missing multiple editions, with their last appearances coming in 2014 and 2016, respectively.
Morocco will host the tournament, which FIFA has tentatively scheduled to run from March 17 through April 3. The confederation has yet to announce when the draw will occur. The top four finishers at the competition will secure berths for the 2027 Women's World Cup, while the four quarterfinalists who lose will compete in an inter-confederation playoff for two additional World Cup places.
