The 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations will determine the first four African teams to qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil, while two more nations will get another chance through a play-off tournament, FIFA has said.
In a qualification guide published on its website on Sunday, the football body said the tournament, scheduled to be held from July 26 to August 16, 2026, would serve as Africa’s qualifying competition for the expanded Women’s World Cup.
According to FIFA, 16 countries will compete at the tournament.
They are: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia.
FIFA explained that the teams would be divided into four groups of four, with the top two sides from each group advancing to the quarter-finals.
It stated that all four semi-finalists would automatically qualify for the 2027 FIFA 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.
The world football governing body added that the four losing quarter-finalists would not be eliminated completely from the qualification race.
Instead, they will contest play-off matches to determine the two African teams that will qualify for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Play-Off Tournament.
According to FIFA, the intercontinental play-off tournament will feature 10 nations — two each from Africa, Asia, Concacaf and South America, and one each from Oceania and Europe.
The first phase of the tournament will be held in November and December 2026, while the final 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, Africa’s most successful women’s national team, is bidding for a record 10th consecutive Women’s World Cup appearance after featuring at every edition since the inaugural tournament in 1991.
Ghana has appeared at three Women’s World Cups, while Cameroon and South Africa have each qualified twice.
Morocco, Zambia, Côte d’Ivoire and Equatorial Guinea have each made one appearance at the global tournament.
The 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup will be hosted by Brazil from June 24 to July 25, marking the first time the competition will be staged in South America.