The first round of TotalEnergies African Women’s Cup of Nations (WAFCON 2024) qualifiers begin on Wednesday, announces the Confederation of African Football (CAF). The tournament itself will be held in Morocco in 2024.
WAFCON 2022, also hosted by Morocco, was heralded as a massive success. South Africa won the tournament, and the games saw record-breaking stadium attendances, with multiple matches surpassing 40,000 attendees. The 2022 edition also saw the Moroccan and Zambian squads qualifying for the FIFA Women’s World Cup for the first time in their histories, and Moroccan player Ghizlane Chebbak named as Best Player of the Tournament.
In the WAFCON in 2024, 40 nations will compete in the qualifiers. Teams will compete in two matches in the first qualifying round between Sept. 20 and Sept. 26, 2023. The winner of the two matches will advance to the second round, which is scheduled for Nov. 27 through Dec. 5, 2023.
As the hosts, Morocco has already qualified for WAFCON 2024, and South Africa and Zambia will also be exempted from the qualifiers, as the reigning African champions and third-place finishers, respectively.