Following Cameroon’s historic triumph over surprising Malawi in the CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2026 (WAFCON) final, FIFA President Gianni Infantino labeled the tournament a “huge, huge success” while congratulating both teams for their inspiring breakthroughs. Cameroon’s 3-0 win at the recently rebuilt Moulay El Hassan Stadium in Rabat, Morocco, capped off a groundbreaking event that highlighted the explosive growth and massive potential of African women’s football. “The African Cup of Nations, organised by CAF and by Morocco, was a huge, huge success. Congratulations to CAF, to Morocco, to all the teams, to all the fantastic fans,” said Mr Infantino, who attended the final in Rabat. “A big thanks to the Confederation of African Football, led by President Patrice Motsepe, the Moroccan Football Association, led by President Fouzi Lekjaa, and all the wonderful people of Morocco for organising this fantastic tournament that shone a spotlight on women's football,” the FIFA President added.

Contested by 16 teams for the first time, the WAFCON – which doubled as the qualifying competition for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027™ – saw the continent’s established order upended. Cameroon lifted the trophy for the first time, while Malawi earned a stunning silver medal in their WAFCON debut. The four automatic qualifiers from Africa to next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup™ in Brazil – Algeria, Cameroon, Malawi and Morocco – have made just three combined appearances on football’s biggest stage (Algeria and Malawi will make their debuts). None of the three former WAFCON winners reached the semi-finals and 10-time champion Nigeria, historically Africa’s dominant side, will miss the FIFA Women’s World Cup for the first time.

Ranked 71st in the latest FIFA/Coca-Cola Women's World Ranking, Cameroon navigated a knockout-stage gauntlet featuring Nigeria and Morocco before racing to glory on Sunday with three first-half goals. Forward Marie Ngah Manga tallied her fourth and fifth of the tournament, which lifted her into a tie for the scoring lead, on either side of a goal by Naomi Eto. The Indomitable Lionesses deservedly celebrated with the trophy for the first time after finishing as WAFCON runners-up in 2004, 2014 and 2016. “Congratulations to Cameroon on winning the 2026 CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and giving great joy to your beautiful, football-loving nation with this historic first triumph,” Mr Infantino said.

Malawi’s story was just as stirring. Appearing on the continental stage for the very first time and powered by the scoring exploits of the Chawinga sisters – Temwa and Tabitha – the 151st-ranked Scorchers shocked the world in Morocco. They defeated Nigeria 3-2 in their opening match, finished atop their group, and then ousted Ghana and Algeria in the knockout rounds. “They made not just the country dream, but everyone that loves football,” Mr Infantino said of Malawi. “You have plenty to be proud of.”

So do Algeria and Morocco, who have booked passage to Brazil alongside the two finalists, as well as South Africa and Ghana, who won play-in matches that qualified them for the Preliminary Phase Draw for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027™ Play-Off Tournament. The draw will take place on Thursday, 20 August 2026 in Zürich, Switzerland.

The Play-Off Tournament’s Preliminary Phase will also include Chinese Taipei, Ecuador, Papua New Guinea and Uzbekistan. Each team will play three matches in November and December, and the top two finishers will move on to the six-team Final Phase next February. There, the winners of three single knock-out games will qualify for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027. The 10th FIFA Women’s World Cup will be the first staged in South and Latin America and like the WAFCON, it will showcase the robust spread and development of the women’s game worldwide.

The expansion of the FIFA Women’s World Cup to 32 teams in 2023 (and then 48 in 2031) – along with the growth of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup™ (from 16 teams to 24 from 2024) and the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup™ (from 16 teams to 24 and from biennial to annual from 2025) – has provided FIFA Member Associations (MAs) in Africa and across the globe with hope, opportunity and an incentive to invest. The recent launches of the FIFA Women's Champions Cup™, FIFA Futsal Women's World Cup™ and the FIFA Women’s Series™ also have made a significant impact on the broadening women’s football landscape. Meanwhile, MAs have seen financial and technical assistance rise dramatically over the past decade, highlighted by a seven-fold increase in funding (totalling nearly USD 5.1 billion) via the FIFA Forward Programme. Malawi’s Scorchers, for example, benefitted from improvements to the Chiwembe Technical Centre in Blantyre, the 2024 establishment of an academy in Mzuzu to the north, and financial support for women’s regional leagues – all supporting the impactful arrival of their women’s national team on the continental and global stage.