CAF Postpones Women’s AFCON After Moroccan Federation Request

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has agreed to a request from the Royal Moroccan Football Federation to postpone the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations finals indefinitely, in a move aimed at avoiding disruption to Morocco’s professional league calendar.

According to Moroccan newspaper Al-Ahdath Al-Maghribia in its Monday, March 2, 2026 edition, the federation found itself compelled to seek a postponement to ensure the domestic league concludes before May 15.

The early finish is considered essential to allow the national team adequate preparation time for the upcoming FIFA World Cup, set to take place in June and July in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

The report indicates that Morocco had proposed four venues to stage the continental tournament: the Larbi Zaouli Stadium in Casablanca, the Moulay Hassan Stadium, the Olympic Stadium in Rabat, and the Fes Complex.

CAF has yet to announce a new date for the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, which also serves as a qualification pathway to the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil.

However, scheduling constraints could see the competition staged shortly after the conclusion of the United States World Cup next summer, especially with FIFA reportedly setting October as the date for the World Cup draw to be hosted by Brazil next year.

The continental body had explored the possibility of relocating the tournament to another host nation to avoid postponement.

Those efforts were unsuccessful due to limitations imposed by the FIFA calendar and infrastructure challenges facing several African countries.

As a result, CAF opted to delay the event while continuing discussions with the Moroccan federation in hopes of securing its organization at a later date.

Meanwhile, reports from South Africa suggested that the country was prepared to step in as host should Morocco withdraw. However, that claim was later denied, further complicating efforts to find an immediate alternative.

Despite CAF’s reluctance to hastily confirm the postponement publicly, the Moroccan federation appears firm in its decision not to proceed with hosting under the current timeline.

The tournament draw had placed Morocco’s national team in Group A alongside Algeria, Senegal and Kenya, setting the stage for a highly competitive opening phase before the latest developments altered the competition’s schedule.