When it kicks off in Morocco on July 26, the Women's African Cup of Nations (WAFCON) promises to provide great goals, games and memories as 16 teams compete for the continental title. While the focus will be on the stars on the pitch, there may also be some attention on the fact that very few of the head coaches are female.
Cameroon's appointment of Valentine Nguel just weeks before the tournament, brought the number of WAFCON nations with female coaches to four — along with Zambia, Kenya, and South Africa. Still, the vast majority of coaches are men. Other teams have appointed female assistants in order to comply with a rule passed by FIFA earlier this year, which requires women's teams to have at least one female coach on the bench.
Africa may be moving slowly in the right direction with two head coaches of 12 at the 2025 WAFCON (16.7%) to four of 16 (25%) in 2026, but there is still a long way to go.Desiree Ellis has been named Africa's women's coach of the year four times.Image: Nour Aknajja/Sports Inc/empics/picture alliance
South Africa leads the way. Desiree Ellis is one of the world's most successful female coaches and led South Africa to the 2022 title. The four-time African Women's coach of the year would like more countries to follow the example set by hers.
