WAFCON 2026 :
Reigning Champions of the TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa of Nations (WAFCON), South Africa have been drawn to face the winner between Botswana and DR Congo in the qualifiers of the 2026 edition of the tournament.
Two rounds of home and away qualifiers will be played, with the opening round scheduled for 17-26 February 2025, while the second and ultimate round will only be played between 20-28 October 2025.
Thirty-eight (38) countries will go into battle for the 12 available spots.
According to the CAF Calendar, the 2026 WAFCON will be played in March in Morocco – the North African country will be hosting the competition for the third consecutive time.
South Africa is one of six nations exempted from the first round due to their high ranking.
Others are Nigeria (1), Zambia (4), Ghana (5), Cameroon (6) and Cote d’Ivoire (7). Banyana Banyana are the second on the continent while hosts Morocco are third.
All the exempted teams will only feature in the October window to fight for their places at the 2026 WAFCON. The hosts qualify automatically.
Record nine times gold medalists, Nigeria, will face the winner between Niger and Benin and Sierra Leone, with 2022 bronze medal winners, Zambia, taking on either Eswatini or Namibia.
2026 WAFCON QUALIFIER SCHEDULE:
- First Round:
February 17–26, 2025
- Second Round:
October 20–28, 2025
First Round Fixtures:
- M1 & M2: Angola vs Zimbabwe
- M3 & M4: Malawi vs Congo
- M5 & M6: Botswana vs DR Congo
- M7 & M8: Tanzania vs Equatorial Guinea
- M9 & M10: Uganda vs Ethiopia
- M11 & M12: Eswatini vs Namibia
- M13 & M14: Burundi vs Burkina Faso
- M15 & M16: Djibouti vs Togo
- M17 & M18: South Sudan vs Algeria
- M19 & M20: Rwanda vs Egypt
- M21 & M22: Kenya vs Tunisia
- M23 & M24: Niger vs Gambia
- M25 & M26: Benin vs Sierra Leone
- M27 & M28: Guinea vs Cape Verde
- M29 & M30: Gabon vs Mali
- M31 & M32: Chad vs Senegal
Second Round Fixtures:
- M33 & M34: Angola/Zimbabwe vs Malawi/Congo
- M35 & M36: Botswana/DR Congo vs South Africa
- M37 & M38: Tanzania/Equatorial Guinea vs Uganda/Ethiopia
- M39 & M40: Eswatini/Namibia vs Zambia
- M41 & M42: Burundi/Burkina Faso vs Djibouti/Togo
- M43 & M44: South Sudan/Algeria vs Cameroon
- M45 & M46: Rwanda/Egypt vs Ghana
- M47 & M48: Kenya/Tunisia vs Niger/Gambia
- M49 & M50: Benin /Sierra Leone Vs Nigeria
- M51 & M52: Guinea/Cape Verde vs Gabon/Mali
- M53 & M54: Chad/Senegal vs Côte d’Ivoire
The draw for the 2025 edition of this tournament was conducted recently in Cairo. Defending champions South Africa are in Group C alongside Ghana, Mali and Tanzania. The tournament takes place from 5-26 July 2025 in Morocco.
Group A:
Morocco, Zambia, Senegal, DR Congo
Group B:
Nigeria, Tunisia, Algeria, Botswana
Group C:
South Africa, Ghana, Mali, Tanzania
FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup:
South Africa has been given a bye in the qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland following a draw held on Thursday in Egypt.
Basetsana will only be in action in the second of four knockout rounds of home and away fixtures.
They will face Eswatini in September 2025. Should they proceed, they will come up against either of Togo/Tunisia/Ghana in the third round in February 2026.
Survival there will see them in the fourth and final round in May to battle it out for the prestige of being one of the four African representatives in Poland.
The tournament is set to take place in August 2026 and will feature 24 nations.
QUALIFIERS FORMAT:
- First Round:
The 12 lowest-ranked teams, based on previous U-20 Women’s World Cup qualifiers performance, will contest in this round. The six winners will advance to join the 26 top-ranked teams exempted from the first round
- Second Round:
The six first-round winners and 26 exempted teams will form 32 teams. These will battle it out for 16 spots in the third round
- Third Round:
The remaining 16 teams will compete in a knockout format to determine the eight teams advancing to the fourth round
- Fourth Round:
The final eight teams will play knockout ties, with the winners earning qualification to the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.
FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup African Qualifiers Draw:
First Round:
- M1, 2: Gabon vs Niger
- M3, 4: Togo vs Tunisia
- M5, 6: Gambia vs Côte d’Ivoire
- M7, 8: Rwanda vs Zimbabwe
- M9, 10: South Sudan vs Djibouti
- M11, 12: Malawi vs Central African Republic
Second Round:
- M13, 14: Gabon/Niger vs Cameroon
- M15, 16: Botswana vs Mozambique
- M17, 18: Ethiopia vs Kenya
- M19, 20: Tanzania vs Angola
- M21, 22: Togo/Tunisia vs Ghana
- M23, 24: Eswatini vs South Africa
- M25, 26: Uganda vs Namibia
- M27, 28: Burundi vs Zambia
- M29, 30: Gambia/Côte d’Ivoire vs Morocco
- M31, 32: Mali vs DR Congo
- M33, 34: Equatorial Guinea vs Egypt
- M35, 36: Benin vs Guinea
- M37, 38: Rwanda/Zimbabwe vs Nigeria
- M39, 40: Senegal vs Algeria
- M41, 42: Guinea-Bissau vs Congo
- M43, 44: South Sudan/Djibouti vs Malawi/Central African Republic
Third Round Fixtures:
- M45, 46: Winner M13, M14 vs Winner M15, M16
- M47, 48: Winner M17, M18 vs Winner M19, M20
- M49, 50: Winner M21, M22 vs Winner M23, M24
- M51, 52: Winner M25, M26 vs Winner M27, M28
- M53, 54: Winner M29, M30 vs Winner M31, M32
- M55, 56: Winner M33, M34 vs Winner M35, M36
- M57, 58: Winner M37, M38 vs Winner M39, M40
- M59, 60: Winner M41, M42 vs Winner M43, M44
Fourth Round Fixtures:
- M61, 62: Winner M45, M46 vs Winner M47, M48
- M63, 64: Winner M49, M50 vs Winner M51, M52
- M65, 66: Winner M53, M54 vs Winner M55, M56
- M67, 68: Winner M57, M58 vs Winner M59, M60
ROUND-BY-ROUND TIMELINE:
- First Round Matches:
First leg: 9–11 May 2025 | Second leg: 16–18 May 2025
- Second Round Matches:
First leg: 19–21 September 2025 | Second leg: 26–28 September 2025
- Third Round Matches:
First leg: 6–8 February 2026 | Second leg: 12–14 February 2026
- Fourth Round Matches:
First leg: 1–3 May 2026 | Second leg: 8–10 May 2026
FIFA U17 WOMEN’S WORLD CUP:
Twenty-eight (28) African nations will go into battle for the five spots, including the hosts, allocated for the continent in the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup.
The tournament, set to be held on the African continent for the first time ever, and will take place in Morocco between 17 October and 8 November 2025.
There will be three rounds of home and away qualifiers to determine the winners.
South Africa, which recently bombed out of the group stages of the COSAFA U17 Women’s Championship in Johannesburg, will lock horns Gabon in the first round in January.
The remaining teams will face off in March in the second round with the winner between Bantwana and Gabon taking on Nigeria who have been exempted from the first round.
The third and final round will be held in April.
FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Qualifiers Draw:
ROUND 1:
- M1, 2: Namibia vs Uganda
- M3, 4: Egypt vs Cameroon
- M5, 6: Zimbabwe vs Ethiopia
- M7, 8: Eswatini vs Tanzania
- M9, 10: Congo vs Benin
- M11, 12: DR Congo vs Niger
- M13, 14: Gabon vs South Africa
- M15, 16: Equatorial Guinea vs Botswana
- M17, 18: Tunisia vs Algeria
- M19, 20: Cote d’Ivoire vs Senegal
- M21, 22: Sierra Leone vs Central Africa Republic
- M23, 24: Togo vs Guinea
ROUND 2:
- M25, 26: Namibia x Uganda vs Kenya
- M27, 28: Egypt X Cameroon vs Zimbabwe x Ethiopia
- M29, 30: Eswatini x Tanzania vs Zambia
- M31, 32: Congo x Benin vs DR Congo x Niger
- M33, 34: Gabon x South Africa vs Nigeria
- M35, 36: Equatorial Guinea x Botswana vs Tunisia x Algeria
- M37, 38: Cote d’Ivoire x Senegal vs Burundi
- M39, 40: Sierra Leone x Central Africa Republic vs Togo x Guinea
ROUND 3
- M41, 42: Winner 25, 26 vs Winner 27, 28
- M43, 44: Winner 29, 30 vs Winner 31, 32
- M45, 46: Winner 33, 34 vs Winner 35, 36
- M47, 48: Winner 37, 38 vs Winner 39, 40
By Matlhomola Morake
