Head coach of the South Africa female team, Desiree Ellis, has joined Super Falcons stars Ashleigh Plumptre and Rasheedat Ajibade in calling out CAF for the reschedule of the WAFCON 2026 tournament, Soccernet.ng reports.
The tournament was scheduled to be held between 17 March and 3 April, but initial doubts arose after word spread that South Africa would host the competition instead of Morocco.
However, all preparations had to be halted after CAF officially announced on their website that the tournament had been shifted.
The organisation stated that the decision was made due to certain unforeseen circumstances.
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Plumptre and Ajibade hit out at CAF for WAFCON postponement
Nigeria played a two-legged clash against Cameroon in preparation for a tournament that didn't eventually happen, and Plumptre, who plies her trade in Saudi Arabia with Al-Ittihad, aired her displeasure about CAF's disorganisation.
“It just wouldn’t happen for other tournaments,” the Former Leicester City women's full-back said in an interview with BBC Match of the Day.
“In women’s football and men’s football, it wouldn’t happen. The last AFCON wasn’t less important than this one just because it wasn’t a qualification for the World Cup.
“Obviously, it’s a first time where there’s an edition for 16 teams, all of whom will want to go and qualify for the World Cup.
“It’s a big deal for many teams, many who’ve not been at the AFCON before. It also helps them financially as well.
“I’ve become accustomed, and I just want to prepare the best way that I can, and we kind of just have to go with it because we have no other choice,” the 27-year-old concluded.
Captain of the Super Falcons, Rasheedat Ajibade, also took to her X page to speak about the rescheduled WAFCON tournament.
African women football deserves better. #CAF #WAFCON2026
— Rasheedat Ajibade OON, OLY (@Rasheedat08) March 5, 2026
South Africa's Desiree Ellis hits out at CAF
Ellis led Bayana Bayana to a semi-final place in the 2024 edition of the WAFCON tournament in Morocco, where they fell short to eventual winners Nigeria.
However, the 62-year-old has been left massively disappointed by how the governing body of African football are so disorganised.
“It’s not really fair. I’m just going to raise a question with this Wafcon: would this be happening with the men’s game?”
“It is a huge shame that the women’s game is treated with so much levity on the continent. How can Caf repeatedly treat the Wafcon so shabbily, with so much disrespect towards the players?, Ellis said in quotes revealed by the Guardian.
Gayton McKenzie, South Africa’s sports minister, claimed the decision wasn't fair, as it had financial implications.
“Caf should strongly consider booking flights for all journalists that can prove that they lost money, [as the] media is going through a very rough period currently, financially. This will just be the right thing to do.”
The WAFCON 2026 will now be played from 25 July to 16 August 2026 in Morocco.
