The Confederation of African Football announced Thursday that the Women's Africa Cup of Nations has been postponed from its scheduled March dates to the summer.

The 16th edition of the tournament will now take place from July 25 to August 16, still hosted in Morocco as originally planned. The competition was initially scheduled to run from March 17 to April 3.

The postponement comes less than two weeks before the tournament was set to begin. Reports had circulated that Morocco, which would have been hosting the event for the third consecutive time, was considering withdrawing as host nation.

CAF had indicated Wednesday that it would clarify the hosting situation in the coming days before making Thursday's announcement confirming the new summer dates while keeping Morocco as the venue.

The Women's Africa Cup of Nations serves as the continental championship for women's football in Africa and determines qualification spots for other international competitions.