The Confederation of African Football, the governing body responsible for organizing football competitions across Africa, has confirmed that the final draw for the 2026 CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations will take place in Rabat, Morocco’s capital city, on Thursday, January 15, 2026.
The announcement was made through an official statement released by the continental football body on Wednesday, outlining key details surrounding the highly anticipated ceremony for Africa’s premier women’s football tournament.
According to the statement, the draw ceremony is scheduled to begin at 2:00 pm local time in Morocco, which corresponds to 13:00 Greenwich Mean Time and 15:00 Cairo time, allowing audiences across Africa and beyond to follow the event simultaneously.
“On the same day, the Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF) will also announce the winners of the CAF Women’s Coach of the Year and other outstanding women’s football awards,” the statement read.
Okay News reports that the 2026 edition of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations will represent a major turning point in the history of the competition, as it will feature sixteen national teams for the first time, expanding from the previous format and increasing competitive opportunities for women’s football across the continent.
Morocco, a North African country that has invested heavily in football development and infrastructure, will host the tournament and automatically qualify alongside fifteen other African nations that secured their places through the qualification process.
The teams confirmed for the tournament include Morocco, Nigeria, Africa’s most successful women’s national team, Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zambia.
Ahead of the draw, the Confederation of African Football also revealed that winners will be announced in three major women’s football award categories, namely the CAF Women’s Coach of the Year, the CAF Women’s Interclub Player of the Year, and the CAF Women’s Club of the Year.
These awards were initially planned to be presented during the CAF Awards ceremony held on Tuesday, November 19, 2025, but were postponed after the women’s football season extended beyond expectations due to the ongoing CAF Women’s Champions League.
Earlier in the week, the continental football authority officially reopened voting for the postponed awards, stressing that it does not participate directly in the voting process but only supervises and coordinates the procedure.
For the CAF Women’s Interclub Player of the Year category, voting will be conducted by accredited media representatives, as well as team captains and coaches who are participating in the CAF Women’s Champions League.
The CAF Women’s Coach of the Year award will be determined through votes cast by members of the media and coaches from football associations across Africa, while the CAF Women’s Club of the Year will be decided by votes from the media and the CAF Women’s Technical Committee.
