A record 25 teams applied for the 2014 African Women's Championship.

This tournament also served as the first stage of qualification for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup for the African zone.

Qualification ties were played on a home-and-away two-legged basis.

If the sides were level on aggregate after the second leg, the away goals rule was applied, and if still level, the tie proceeded directly to a penalty shoot-out (no extra time was played).

[2] The best placed teams from the 2012 tournament Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and South Africa received a bye to the second round.