For its first 2 editions in 1991 and 1995, multiple nations withdrew their teams from qualification or its matches, as they weren't ready for the new developments at the time.

[1] The 1998 edition was hosted from 17 to 31 October by Nigeria, who would claim their third consecutive win by defeating Ghana 2-0 in the final at Gateway Stadium.

The match was abandoned at the 73rd minute due to fans throwing objects at the referee following Stella Mbachu’s second goal.

The final was held at the Estadio Internacional stadium, where hosts Equatorial Guinea defeated South Africa 2-1 to be the first nation beyond Nigeria to win the tournament.

[4] Also for the first time, the defending champions of the tournament, Equatorial Guinea, were not taking part after failing to win their last qualifying round match after they were defeated by Ivory Coast.

The 2016 Women's Africa Cup of Nations was hosted by Cameroon and was delayed to between 19 November and 3 December 2016 due to weather considerations.

On 21 July 2016, French energy and petroleum giant TotalEnergies (formerly Total S.A.) secured an 8-year sponsorship package from CAF to support its competitions.

[10][11] The cancellation of the Women’s tournament, opposed to the Men’s rendition being postponed is accredited to the worsening impact of the pandemic along with no new host nation coming forward, after Congo withdrew from hosting duties the year previous[12] Nigeria won the Women African Cup of Nations 2018, achieving a 4-3 penalty shootout victory against South Africa in the final.

Along with the increased prize fund for CAF Women’s Champions League competition this initiative also saw an investment in women’s African football at grassroot level through the African Schools Football Championship, which introduced an equal prize fund for both the girls’ and boys’ competitions.

On 6 July 2023, CAF revealed the draw for qualification schedule and procedures for the 2024 edition at the Mohammed VI Complex in Rabat, Morocco and pegged the commencement date at 10 August.

The format continued with the installation of a full-scale tournament consisting of an initial eight-team group stage in the 1998 edition and an additional qualification spot.

The top two advance to the knockout stage and earn qualification to the FIFA Women's World Cup every other edition.