‘So much disrespect’: WAFCON delay triggers backlash as teams’ preparations unravel
Just weeks after CAF president Patrice Motsepe publicly insisted the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations would proceed on schedule, African women’s football has been thrown back into uncertainty by another late postponement — a move that has infuriated players, coaches and federations preparing for the continent’s flagship tournament.
Motsepe said on 13 February that the 2025 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, planned for Morocco from 17 March to 4 April, would go ahead as planned. But that assurance has not held. On 5 March — less than a fortnight before kickoff — the competition was postponed again, compounding the disruption caused by the tournament’s earlier delay of 19 months, with the event now set for July 2025. The timeline and the last-minute nature of the latest change have been widely criticised across the women’s game. Those key details were reported in the original account of events by The Guardian’s women’s football newsletter, Moving the Goalposts.
The fallout is immediate. Several national teams had already entered intensive preparation windows, arranging training camps and international friendlies across Africa and Asia to fine-tune squads for the finals. For coaches, the postponement tears up carefully built periodisation plans; for players, it means months more uncertainty around club-versus-country workload, travel, and selection decisions.
⚽ Key Insight
There is also a competitive cost. WAFCON is not only a continental showpiece but a critical pathway that shapes which teams get to represent Africa at the next Women’s World Cup. When dates move suddenly, planning for qualification strategies, scouting and performance analysis becomes chaotic — especially for federations operating with limited budgets.
Behind the anger is a familiar refrain: accountability. Players and staff have questioned how a tournament of this magnitude can be shifted so close to the start date after a high-profile pledge that the schedule would be honoured. In private conversations, officials point to sunk costs — flights, hotels, medical insurance, camp facilities — and warn that repeated disruptions erode sponsor confidence and fan engagement at a moment when women’s football on the continent is fighting for stability and sustained investment.
CAF has not escaped the charge that the women’s calendar is treated as flexible in a way the men’s game rarely is. The “disrespect” framing has been echoed in reactions from those close to squads who feel their work is routinely deprioritised, despite growing talent levels and increasing global interest in African women’s football.
Infographic: What we know
Tournament: Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON)
Host nation: Morocco
Original window: 17 March – 4 April
Decision date: 5 March postponement
New timing: July 2025 (after a 19-month delay)
Affected teams noted: Nigeria (holders), Cameroon, Ghana
Key Takeaways
- Another late postponement has reignited criticism of CAF’s planning and communication around WAFCON.
- Teams had already begun preparations, including friendlies and camps, leaving federations facing wasted costs and disrupted schedules.
- Credibility has taken a hit after assurances from CAF leadership that the tournament would proceed as planned.
- Competitive consequences extend beyond WAFCON, with the tournament linked to Africa’s World Cup representation pathway.
For many around the women’s game, the question now is not simply when WAFCON will be played, but what changes CAF will implement to ensure the tournament is treated with the operational certainty and respect its players have long demanded.
Source: Reporting details referenced from The Guardian’s coverage and its Moving the Goalposts newsletter: theguardian.com/football.
