CAF Doubles WAFCON Winners’ Prize Money To $2m Ahead Of 2026 Tournament.

 

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has increased the winners’ prize money for the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) by 100 per cent, raising it from $1 million to $2 million.The latest increase comes just days before the 2026 WAFCON in Morocco, where 16 teams will compete in the expanded tournament for the first time in the competition’s history.

Morocco will once again host the tournament from 25 July to 16 August.

Last year, CAF increased the previous winners’ prize of $500,000 by 100 per cent, while the total prize fund rose by 45 per cent to $3.475 million.

A year later, the overall prize fund has increased by another 67 per cent, from $3.475m to $5.8m.

The runners-up will now receive $750,000, representing a 50 per cent increase, while the prize money for the third-placed team has been increased by 43 per cent.

Each of the 16 participating teams will also receive $150,000 in participation funding, an increase of $25,000 (20 per cent) from the $125,000 received in the previous edition.

'Since the current CAF leadership assumed office, the prize money of the winner has increased by 900 per cent from $200,000 to $2m and the total prize money has increased by 495 per cent from $975,000 to $5.8 million', CAF said in a statement released on its website on Wednesday.

Two cities, Rabat and Casablanca, will host the competition.

Hosts Morocco headline Group A alongside Algeria, Senegal and Kenya, with all of their matches set to be played in Rabat.

Former champions South Africa play in Group B in Casablanca, where they will face Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and Tanzania.

Record 10-time champions Nigeria have been drawn in Group C and will battle Zambia, Egypt and Malawi in Rabat, while Group D, to be played in Casablanca, features Ghana, Cameroon, Mali and Cape Verde.

The four semi-finalists will qualify automatically for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil, while the four losing quarter-finalists will be in contention for places in the intercontinental playoffs.