The Confederation of African Football has postponed the upcoming edition of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations just 12 days before the tournament was scheduled to begin in Morocco.

The African football governing body said the competition will now take place from July 25 to August 16, during the European summer.

The tournament was originally scheduled to hold from March 17 to April 3, but Moroccan authorities requested a change of dates due to what CAF described as “unforeseen circumstances”.

In a statement, Confederation of African Football said the decision was taken to ensure the successful organisation of the continental women’s championship, though it did not provide further details.

CAF also did not confirm whether Morocco will still host the tournament for a third consecutive time.

Earlier, CAF president Patrice Motsepe had ruled out postponing the competition, noting that it also serves as the African qualification tournament for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil.

Under the qualification format, the four semi-finalists secure automatic qualification for the global tournament, while teams eliminated in the quarter-finals are expected to have another opportunity through intercontinental play-offs.