The Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced today that it has rescheduled the date for the CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, which was scheduled to take place from March 17 to April 7 in Morocco.
CAF said the tournament will now take place from July 25 to August 16 to ensure the success of the tournament “in light of certain unforeseen circumstances.”
The governing body of African football said preparation for the continental tournament is still ongoing, stressing that all parties are confident that “it will be very successful” without providing further details.
Yet it did not clarify whether Morocco will still be the host of the tournament.
Many reports have expressed doubts about the fate of the competition, with speculations and claims suggesting that there was doubt as to whether Morocco would still be hosting the continental tournament this year.
In February, a tense debate across African sports circles ignited when South Africa’s deputy minister for sport suggested Pretoria had seized the opportunity to host the tournament following speculation Morocco might withdraw.
However, South Africa’s Ministry of Sports issued an official statement stressing that Morocco remained the official host of WAFCON and that no formal decision had been taken to relocate the competition.
The rumors and speculation came in the wake of the chaotic AFCON final between Morocco and Senegal on January 18. Senegal’s Teranga Lions staged an unprecedented controversy in that final, leaving the pitch for 15 minutes after the referee awarded what the majority of observers and fans saw as a deserved penalty to Morocco’s Atlas Lions in the dying minutes of the tense game.
Senegalese players defied the referee’s decision, triggering tensions that ultimately affected the course of Morocco’s play and fans’ enthusiasm.
Senegalese fans also stormed the pitch, with some destroying the stadium facilities and using them as weapons against security guards.
The situation sparked uncertainty, especially after light sanctions were issued by CAF on Senegal despite its staging of a walkoff that observers said was a stain on the image of both AFCON and African football in general.
