The Quest for WAFCON 2026 Glory: Uganda's Crested Cranes Learn Their Fate

By: Geoffrey Mugabi

The journey to the TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, Morocco 2026, is set to begin after the draw for the qualifiers was held at the headquarters of the Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF) in Cairo on Thursday.

The Uganda senior women’s football national team, the Crested Cranes, has learned their opponents in the qualifying campaign.

Uganda’s Crested Cranes will face rivals Ethiopia for a spot in the 2026 WAFCON. The last time the two teams faced, Uganda eliminated Ethiopia on penalties to qualify for the 2022 WAFCON.

However, Uganda was eliminated by Algeria on a 2-1 aggregate in the last qualifiers for the 2024 WAFCON.

A total of 38 African nations will compete for one of the 12 available spots in the final phase, alongside host nation Morocco, which qualifies automatically.

The qualifiers will take place in two rounds of home-and-away matches, promising intense and decisive encounters.

The winner between Uganda and Ethiopia will face either Tanzania or Equatorial Guinea.

The first-round fixtures are scheduled from February 17 to 26, 2025, while the second round will occur between October 20 and 28, 2025.

Defending champions South Africa are among the six nations exempted from the first round due to their high ranking among Africa’s top teams in the FIFA rankings.

This is the third consecutive time that Morocco will host Africa’s premier women’s football competition.