The 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations has been postponed just 12 days before the finals were set to kick off in Morocco.

The Confederation of African Football (Caf) in a statement released on Thursday said it was rescheduling the tournament due to "unforseen [sic] circumstances".

The tournament, which this year doubles up as a qualifier for the 2027 Women's World Cup in Brazil, was scheduled to be held from 17 March to 3 April.

Morocco was set to stage a third successive edition of the finals but reports of a potential hosting change had created anxiety among players and fans in recent weeks.

Speculation about the country's willingness to host the tournament increased after the chaotic scenes that played out in the 2025 men's Afcon final, which Morocco lost 1-0 to Senegal in a dramatic match at the Stade Moulay Abdellah stadium in Rabat.

Caf said the decision to postpone the tournament was taken to "ensure the success of this important women's competition".

It did not indicate a new host, or dates, stating that "preparations for the tournament are underway".

The group stage draw for the expanded 16-team tournament was made on 15 January but Caf had not yet published the full match schedule.

At the start of February, South African Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie was forced to clarify remarks from his deputy that South Africa was set to take over as Wafcon 2026 hosts.

The postponement will once again lead to questions about Caf's commitment to the women's game, with the 2020 Wafcon cancelled entirely because of the Covid-19 pandemic, while the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations was rescheduled until early 2022.

The 2024 Wafcon, won by Nigeria, was only held in July last year because of scheduling conflicts including the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Wafcon is the second continental tournament to be moved at short notice in the past 14 months.

Caf postponed the 2024 African Nations Championship just 18 days before it was due to start in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda on 1 February 2025.

On that occasion, the continent's governing body said its experts had advised that more time was required to ensure infrastructure and facilities were "at the levels necessary".

The finals were eventually held in August last year.

Prior to Caf's announcement, the BBC spoke to former Super Falcons captain Desire Oparanozie, who voiced profound disappointment at the recurring setbacks for women's football on the continent.

"I'm very much worried and I would say I'm disappointed because this keeps happening with women's football," she told BBC Sport Africa.

"During Covid the Wafcon was postponed [but] the men went on to play the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon."

"I think it's because it's women's football, people really don't give that much importance to it," she said.

Morocco successfully hosted Wafcon in 2022 and the delayed 2024 edition held in 2025, which saw record attendance figures and strong television audiences across Africa.

"It's disappointing that we're depending so much on Morocco," says Oparanozie, who won Wafcon four times with Nigeria.

"Caf should start looking for possible countries that will actually come up to take the spot if Morocco were to pull out."

Oparanozie said the postponement could have a physical and mental impact on players, who were already preparing for the tournament.

Teams like Nigeria, Cameroon and Ghana had continued their preparations with high-profile friendlies, with the Black Queens of Ghana on a training tour in the United Arab Emirates.

"They [players] will be very worried considering the amount of work they've put in so far physically and mentally."

"They've put their lives on hold just to focus for this tournament and prolonged uncertainty could demoralise some," she said.

The escalating conflict in the Middle East, which has caused airspace closures and flight cancellations, had further raised concerns about the tournament, with the Ghanaian team needing assurances and support from the country's foreign mission.

"We are currently safe, our mission is in touch with us and working on ensuring our safety and we shall leave as soon as possible, when our flight gets scheduled," the team's media officer, Matilda Dzifo Dimedo, told BBC Sport Africa.

"But for the meantime as we wait for the schedule, we will train and play the last match in a safe space," she added.