Africa Cup of Nations - Women: Fixtures, Results & Stats

Africa Cup of Nations - Women is a women’s international football cup competition for national teams across Africa; its current widely used identity is the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), organised by the Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF). It is the continent’s premier women’s national-team tournament, bringing together the strongest eligible CAF member associations to compete for the African title and, in relevant editions, places on the route to the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Identity and purpose

WAFCON sits at the top of Africa’s women’s international football structure. Unlike a domestic league, which is contested by clubs over a season, it is a national-team championship played as a tournament. Its central sporting purpose is to determine the continental champion, but its importance extends beyond the final: the competition provides a high-level platform for players, coaches and national federations while supporting the professional development and wider recognition of women’s football across Africa.

The tournament was established in 1991, originally under the name African Women’s Championship. That origin gives it a longer history than the modern branding suggests. It has developed from an emerging continental championship into a major international event with significance for rankings, World Cup qualification and the visibility of African women’s football. The name Africa Cup of Nations - Women is also encountered as Africa Cup of Nations Women, while Women’s Africa Cup of Nations is the familiar modern form.

Governance and access

CAF is responsible for the competition’s regulations, administration, draw procedures, hosting arrangements and commercial framework. National teams representing CAF member associations may enter the qualifying competition, subject to the applicable registration and administrative requirements. Qualification normally consists of multiple rounds of home-and-away knockout ties, making progress over two legs as important as performance in the final tournament itself. The host nation receives an automatic place in the finals, while the remaining entrants must earn qualification through the preliminary rounds.

The qualification system gives the competition a broad continental reach. It allows national teams from across Africa to compete for access to the finals, while the knockout structure creates meaningful matches before the main event begins. Draws and seeding can be influenced by FIFA world rankings, previous performance and the regulations for the relevant edition, with the host and defending champion sometimes receiving defined positions in the final draw.

Final-tournament format

The finals use a hybrid format: a round-robin group phase is followed by single-elimination matches. Qualified teams are placed into groups and play each opponent in their group once. A win is worth three points, a draw one point and a defeat no points. The leading teams then progress to the quarter-finals, followed by the semi-finals, a third-place play-off and the final.

The precise number of finalists and the advancement rules have varied between editions. Recent format descriptions use four groups of four, with the top two teams in each group advancing to the quarter-finals; earlier arrangements have also included a different group composition and qualification for the best-ranked third-placed teams. For that reason, the regulations and draw for each edition should be treated as definitive rather than assuming that every historical tournament used the same structure.

Group standings are settled first by points. Where teams are level, the regulations generally prioritise results between the tied teams, considering head-to-head points, head-to-head goal difference and head-to-head goals scored before applying overall group goal difference and total goals scored. The order and application of any further criteria are controlled by the regulations for the particular edition.

Knockout matches and sporting stakes

The knockout phase changes the contest from league-style accumulation to winner-takes-all progression. If a quarter-final, semi-final, third-place match or final is level after 90 minutes, extra time is played in two 15-minute periods. A penalty shootout decides the winner if the scores remain level after extra time.

The title carries the status of African women’s continental champion and represents the highest team honour available within CAF’s women’s national-team game. WAFCON also has a direct connection to the global calendar: it has traditionally served as the principal qualifying tournament for African places at the FIFA Women’s World Cup. In editions where World Cup qualification is attached, the semi-finalists typically secure direct berths, while losing quarter-finalists may enter an additional play-off or repechage route if further places are available. The exact allocation depends on the relevant FIFA and CAF qualification regulations.

Calendar and continuing importance

The Women’s Africa Cup of Nations is traditionally a biennial tournament, generally staged every two years, although dates may move because of the FIFA International Match Calendar, host-country planning and wider scheduling changes. Its mid-year placement has been common, but the confirmed dates for each edition take precedence over any general calendar pattern.

From its 1991 foundation to its modern WAFCON identity, the competition has combined continental rivalry with a wider development mission. It gives African national teams a route to honours, World Cup qualification and international exposure, while its qualifying rounds and finals create a regular competitive framework for the growth of women’s football throughout the continent.