THE Confederation of African Football is considering alternative hosts for the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations following the postponement of the tournament, amid growing uncertainty over whether Morocco will retain its hosting rights, News Point Nigeria Sport reports.
CAF confirmed on Thursday that the competition, originally scheduled to hold between March 17 and April 3, will now take place from July 25 to August 16 after consultations with FIFA and other stakeholders.
While the continental governing body only announced a change in the tournament dates, questions have emerged about Morocco’s ability to stage the competition within the new timeframe, prompting discussions about possible alternatives.
Sports News Africa reported that Moroccan authorities had internally informed CAF weeks earlier that the country could not host the tournament in March due to logistical challenges and scheduling conflicts with other football activities.
“For several weeks, Morocco has announced internally that it cannot organize the event in March, citing a logistical and field issue with the men’s championship games or the commitments already made during the international break in March with the sixth edition of the ‘Morocco, capital of African football’ where eight selections will compete in Casablanca and Rabat,” the outlet reported.
The report added that CAF had quietly explored contingency options in case Morocco withdrew from hosting duties.
“Aware of the problem, CAF had discreetly surveyed several countries to have a plan B. Besides South Africa, the African Confederation had even informally asked Algeria if it was potentially interested, and it was denied.”
The uncertainty has further fuelled speculation about tensions between CAF president Patrice Motsepe and Moroccan football chief Fouzi Lekjaa, with discussions over the tournament calendar reportedly reaching a stalemate before the postponement was finally announced.
“Symbol of the tensions between the president of the CAF and his Moroccan counterpart, Fouzi Lekjaa, this dialogue of the deaf reached its climax last week when a statement was finally supposed to fall on the official website of the Confederation. Eight days later, nothing had been published yet,” the report stated.
“Patrice Motsepe repeated several times that it was out of the question to change the calendar because of the qualifiers for the upcoming Women’s World Cup. Problem, Morocco remains firm and repeated its inability to organize the WAFCON in March.”
Amid the uncertainty, South Africa has openly declared its readiness to host the tournament if Morocco eventually relinquishes the rights.
South Africa’s Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, said his country had the infrastructure to step in and warned against further delays that could affect the development of women’s football on the continent.
“The situation regarding the CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations is very concerning,” McKenzie said.
“If Morocco is ready to host the WAFCON because they had a brilliant AFCON, they should do so. If they are not ready, we want to tell them, we (South Africa) have stadiums, we are not a country with less infrastructure. We will never be held hostage by countries that have less than what we have.
“We don’t wait for no one. We will not allow women’s football to be treated in such fashion. If Morocco is not going to host it, South Africa is standing ready to host.”
Despite the uncertainty over the host nation, CAF said preparations for the tournament are continuing, expressing confidence that the event will be successfully staged once the new dates arrive.
“Preparations for the TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations 2026 are underway and all the parties are confident that it will be very successful,” CAF said.
The competition will also serve as Africa’s qualification pathway for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, with the four semi-finalists securing automatic qualification while another African side will have the opportunity to qualify through an intercontinental play-off.