The Confederation of African Football (Caf) has expanded the African Women's Cup of Nations from eight to 12 teams for the 2020 tournament.
The biennial tournament has featured eighth teams for the previous 11 editions.
Previously held with two groups of four teams, the Awcon has been contested with this format since 1998.
The past format also saw the top two teams in each group qualified for the semi-finals, with four teams crashing out of the competition.
"With @CAF_Online’s #exco, we took a great decision today: feminine’s #AFCON will now engage 12 teams! They only were 8 until now," president Ahmad Ahmad announced via his Twitter account.