Nigeria’s Super Falcons will be targeting a record-extending 11th title when the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations takes place in South Africa from March 17 to April 3.
Drawn in Group C, Nigeria will square up against Zambia, Egypt and Malawi in what promises to be a highly competitive group featuring both emerging and established forces in the women’s game.
Completesports.com’s AUGUSTINE AKHILOMEN highlights 15 notable facts about the Super Falcons’ Group C opponents.
ZAMBIA
1. First Appearance: The Copper Queens qualified for their first Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in 2014, where they were grouped alongside Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Namibia in Group A. Zambia lost two matches and drew one to finish bottom of the group.
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2. First to Qualify for WAFCON 2026: Zambia were the first nation to qualify for the 2026 WAFCON, securing a dominant 7–2 aggregate victory over Namibia.
3. Best Finish — Bronze: The Copper Queens achieved their highest finish to date by winning bronze at the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations. They defeated the Super Falcons 1–0 in the third-place match.
4. Five Appearances: Zambia have qualified for the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations five times (2014, 2018, 2022, 2024 and 2026).
5. Expatriate Coach: Zambia are managed by a foreign coach, Nora Hauptle of Switzerland.
EGYPT
6. First Appearance: The Cleopatras made their first appearance at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in 1998, losing all three matches and conceding 14 goals.
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7. Group Stage Jinx: Egypt have never progressed beyond the group stages of the tournament.
8. Qualified via World Ranking: Egypt secured a place at the 2026 tournament through world ranking after the competition expanded to 16 teams, despite suffering a 7–0 aggregate defeat to Ghana in the final qualifying round.
9. Two Appearances: Egypt have qualified for the final tournament twice before, in 1998 and 2016.
10. Indigenous Coach: The team are managed by Mohamed Mostafa Abdelhameed of Egypt.
MALAWI
11. First Appearance: This will be Malawi’s first appearance at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.
12. Dramatic Qualification: The Scorchers secured their place in the expanded 16-team WAFCON 2026 finals with a 2–0 second-leg victory over Angola, inspired by a late brace from defensive midfielder Faith Chinzimu.
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13. History-Making Coach: Lovermore Fazili became the first coach to qualify Malawi for the tournament.
14. First Meeting With Nigeria: Malawi will open their WAFCON campaign against Nigeria on 18 March, marking the first-ever meeting between both teams.
15. Four Euro-Based Players: Tabitha Chawinga, Vanessa Chikupira, Rose Kadzere and Faith Chinzimu are Malawi’s biggest stars currently playing club football in Europe.
