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The Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF) has announced the procedures for the Final Draw of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) Morocco 2026, scheduled for Thursday, January 15, in Rabat.
CAF said in a statement on Thursday that the draw will take place at the Mohammed VI Football Complex and will be broadcast live from 14:00 local time.
For the first time, 16 teams will compete in the women’s tournament—the most in WAFCON history.
The qualified teams are host nation Morocco; Algeria; Burkina Faso; Cameroon; Cape Verde; Côte d’Ivoire; Egypt; Ghana; Kenya; Malawi; Mali; Nigeria; Senegal; South Africa; Tanzania; and Zambia.
The teams will be split up into four groups of four teams under the competition format (Groups A, B, C, and D).
The top two teams from each group will advance to the knockout stage, which includes the quarter-finals, semi-finals, third-place play-off and final.
The tournament will also feature qualifying play-offs for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Brazil 2027.
CAF said the draw pots are based on the FIFA Women’s World Ranking released on December 11, 2025.
Morocco, as hosts, are placed in Pot 1 and will automatically occupy position A1, while defending champions Nigeria are also in Pot 1 and fixed in position C1. South Africa and Ghana complete the top pot.
Pot 2 includes Zambia, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire and Algeria.
Pot 3 features Senegal, Mali, Egypt and Burkina Faso, while Pot 4 contains Cape Verde, Tanzania, Kenya and Malawi.
The draw will take place according to the following principles:
• Morocco is automatically placed in position A1 as the host country.
• Nigeria is automatically placed in position C1 as the title holders.
The rest of the draw will follow this order:
Pot 4
The teams will be drawn and placed successively in positions A4, B4, C4 and D4.
Pot 3
The teams will be drawn and placed successively in positions A3, B3, C3 and D3.
Pot 2
The teams will be drawn and placed successively in positions A2, B2, C2 and D2.
Pot 1
The two teams not yet positioned will be drawn and placed successively in positions B1 and D1.
