The 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations will decide the first four African teams to earn places at the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil, while two additional teams will have another opportunity through a play-off tournament, FIFA has announced.
In a qualification guide released on its website on Sunday, the global football body confirmed that the competition, set to take place from July 26 to August 16, 2026, will act as Africa’s qualifying tournament for the expanded Women’s World Cup.
A total of 16 nations will participate: 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, with the top two in each group progressing to the quarter-finals. FIFA stated that the four teams reaching the semi-finals will automatically secure qualification for the 2027 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 clarified that the four teams beaten in the quarter-finals will remain in contention for qualification.
Rather than being knocked out entirely, they will compete in play-off matches to determine the two African representatives that will advance to the FIFA Women’s World Cup Play-Off Tournament.
The intercontinental play-off event will feature 10 teams: two each from Africa, Asia, Concacaf and South America, along with one team each from Oceania and Europe.
Its opening phase will take place in November and December 2026, while the concluding phase is scheduled for February 2027.
“The six teams will be drawn into three paths, with a direct knockout match to determine the final three teams qualifying for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027. Teams from the same confederation will not be permitted to be drawn in the same pathway,” FIFA said.
Nigeria, the continent’s most successful women’s national team, is aiming for a record 10th straight Women’s World Cup appearance, having competed in every edition since the inaugural tournament in 1991.
Ghana has featured at three Women’s World Cups, while Cameroon and South Africa have each qualified twice. Morocco, Zambia, Côte d’Ivoire and Equatorial Guinea have all made one appearance.
The 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup will be staged in Brazil from June 24 to July 25, making it the first edition of the tournament to be hosted in South America.