CAN Féminine : Motsepe opposes a refusal to Lekjaa’s request for postponement

The suspense is over and the decision does not go in the direction hoped for by Morocco. While Fouzi Lekjaa, President of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, had gone to Dar es Salaam with the intention of pleading for a postponement of the Women’s AFCON, the pan-African body has chosen firmness. During the press conference concluding the Executive Committee meeting, Patrice Motsepe confirmed the maintenance of the tournament at its initial date.

The argument of the head of African football is technical and unambiguous: the calendar does not allow any room for maneuver. "The tournament will not be postponed because it is linked to the FIFA calendar," he justified. The stakes are high since this Moroccan edition serves as a qualifying tournament for the next World Cup, with the four semi-finalists directly securing their ticket to the world championship.

It is therefore a setback for the Moroccan side, which had wished, for organizational and strategic reasons, to obtain an additional delay. The competition will therefore take place as planned from March 2026, forcing the organizing committee to maintain the pace to welcome the elite of African women’s football in just a few weeks.