What we learned from Wafcon 2026
August 17, 2026 18:51
Cameroon won the 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, defeating Malawi 3-0 in the final and becoming only the fourth nation to lift the Wafcon trophy. The tournament went ahead after a last-minute postponement and is widely viewed within the coverage as a success.
All four semi-finalists — Cameroon, Morocco, Algeria and Malawi — secured places at the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup. The tournament produced a number of surprise results and a higher goals-per-game average than the previous edition.
KEY CONTEXT
Caf had expanded Wafcon from 12 to 16 teams during the qualifying phase, a change described in the coverage as justified but announced late in the process. That late expansion allowed Cameroon and Ivory Coast to enter the finals based on world ranking after both had been eliminated in the initial qualifying rounds (Cameroon had been beaten by Algeria in qualifying). Ivory Coast topped their group at the finals before losing to Algeria in the quarter-finals.
The 16-team format coincided with greater competitiveness than in 2024: debutants Malawi reached the final, upsetting Nigeria 3-2 in their opener, and Tanzania, ranked 65 places below South Africa, beat the 2022 champions in the group stage. Temwa Chawinga finished as top scorer with five goals and two assists. Across 32 tournament matches (excluding two World Cup play-offs) there were 90 goals — an average of 2.81 per game, up from 2.54 in 2024.
WHY IT MATTERS
The expansion to 16 teams appears to have increased competition and provided more high-level matches across the continent, which the coverage suggests is important for developing women's football in Africa.