2025 Africa Cup of Nations

The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, also referred to as AFCON 2025 or CAN 2025, is scheduled to be the 35th edition of the biennial African football tournament organised by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). It will be hosted by Morocco for the second time and the first since 1988 in July and August 2025.[1][2][3][4] Morocco was originally scheduled to host the 2015 edition, but withdrew due to fears stemming from the Western African Ebola virus epidemic. Due to FIFA expanding its Club World Cup competition to 32 teams and having it scheduled for June and July that year, this edition of the tournament will be played a month later than was originally scheduled.

2025 Africa Cup of Nations
Coupe d'Afrique des nations 2025
كأس الأمم الأفريقية 2025
Tournament details
Host countryMorocco
DatesTBD
Teams24
Venue(s)6 (in 6 host cities)

This edition of the tournament is scheduled to be the second after 2019 to take place during the northern hemisphere's summer, in order to reduce scheduling conflicts with European club teams and competitions;[5][6][7][8] the previous 2023 edition was moved to January and February 2024 owing to the adverse summer weather conditions in Ivory Coast.[9][10]

Guinea was originally set as hosts for this edition of the tournament, but had its hosting rights stripped after affirming its inadequacy of hosting preparations.[11][12] After a second bidding process,[13] Morocco was named as the new hosts on 27 September 2023.[14]

Ivory Coast are the defending champions.

Host selection

CAF stripped Cameroon from hosting the 2019 edition of the tournament on 30 November 2018 due lack of speed of progress in preparations,[15] but accepted former CAF president Ahmad Ahmad's request to stage the next edition in 2021. Consequently, the original hosts of 2021, Ivory Coast, became hosts of the 2023 edition with Guinea instead hosting the 2025 edition, which until then had no hosts.[16] The CAF President confirmed the timetable shift after a meeting with Ivorian president Alassane Ouattara in Abidjan, Ivory Coast on 30 January 2019.[17]

On 30 September 2022, current CAF president Patrice Motsepe announced that Guinea had been stripped as host for the 2025 edition due to inadequacy and speed of progress in hosting preparations.[11] Consequently, a new process was re-opened for a replacement host bidder.[13][18] On 27 September 2023, the 2025 edition was awarded to Morocco[14] and the 2027 edition to Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.[19][20]

Qualification

The detailed schedule has the following format according to Daily Post Nigeria:[21]

  • Preliminary round : 20 – 26 March 2024
  • Matchdays 1 and 2 : 2 – 10 September 2024
  • Matchdays 3 and 4 : 7 – 15 October 2024
  • Matchdays 5 and 6 : 11 – 19 November 2024

On 18 February 2024, CAF released the procedures for the preliminary round and its draw[22][23] which was held at its headquarters in Cairo, Egypt two days later, i.e. 20 February.[24]

Qualified teams

The following teams have qualified for this edition of the tournament.

Team Method of
qualification		 Date of
qualification		 Finals
appearance		 Last
appearance		 Previous best
performance		 FIFA ranking
at start of event
 MoroccoHosts27 September 202320th2023Champions (1976)

Venues

On 27 September 2023, the Royal Moroccan Football Federation unveiled a list of six stadiums in six cities to host this edition of the tournament.

Casablanca Rabat Tangier Marrakesh
Mohammed V Stadium Moulay Abdellah Stadium Ibn Batouta Stadium Marrakesh Stadium
Capacity: 45,891 Capacity: 50,000 Capacity: 65,000 Capacity: 45,240
Agadir
Adrar Stadium
Capacity: 45,480
Fez
Fez Stadium
Capacity: 45,000

Group stage

The top two teams of each group, along with the best four third-placed teams, will advance to the round of 16.

Tiebreakers

Teams will be ranked according to the three points for a win system (3 points for a win, 1 for a draw, 0/none points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings (Regulations Article 74):[25]

  1. Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  2. Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  3. Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  4. If more than two teams were tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, if two teams are still tied, all head-to-head criteria above are applied exclusively to these two teams;
  5. Goal difference in all group matches;
  6. Goals scored in all group matches;
  7. Drawing of lots.

Group A
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Morocco (H) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to knockout stage
2 A2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 A3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Possible knockout stage based on ranking
4 A4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: TBD. Source: CAF
(H) Hosts

Group B
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 B1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to knockout stage
2 B2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 B3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Possible knockout stage based on ranking
4 B4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: TBD. Source: CAF

Group C
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 C1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to knockout stage
2 C2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 C3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Possible knockout stage based on ranking
4 C4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: TBD. Source: CAF

Group D
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 D1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to knockout stage
2 D2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 D3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Possible knockout stage based on ranking
4 D4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: TBD. Source: CAF

Group E
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 E1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to knockout stage
2 E2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 E3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Possible knockout stage based on ranking
4 E4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: TBD. Source: CAF

Group F
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 F1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to knockout stage
2 F2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 F3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Possible knockout stage based on ranking
4 F4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: TBD. Source: CAF

Ranking of third-placed teams
Pos Grp Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 A A3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to knockout stage
2 B B3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 C C3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 D D3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5 E E3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
6 F F3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: TBD. Source: CAF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Disciplinary points; 5) Drawing of lots.

Combinations of matches in the round of 16

The specific match-ups involving the third-placed teams depend on which four third-placed teams qualify for the round of 16:

  Possible combinations of third-placed teams
Third-placed teams
qualify from groups		 1A
vs		 1B
vs		 1C
vs		 1D
vs
ABCD3C3D3A3B
ABCE3C3A3B3E
ABCF3C3A3B3F
ABDE3D3A3B3E
ABDF3D3A3B3F
ABEF3E3A3B3F
ACDE3C3D3A3E
ACDF3C3D3A3F
ACEF3C3A3F3E
ADEF3D3A3F3E
BCDE3C3D3B3E
BCDF3C3D3B3F
BCEF3E3C3B3F
BDEF3E3D3B3F
CDEF3C3D3F3E

Knockout stage

Bracket
 
Round of 16Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
              
 
 
 
 
Runner-up Group A
 
 
 
Runner-up Group C
 
Winner R2
 
 
 
Winner R1
 
Winner Group D
 
 
 
3rd Group B/E/F
 
Winner QF1
 
 
 
Winner QF4
 
Winner Group B
 
 
 
3rd Group A/C/D
 
Winner R5
 
 
 
Winner R8
 
Winner Group F
 
 
 
Runner-up Group E
 
Winner SF1
 
 
 
Winner SF2
 
Runner-up Group B
 
 
 
Runner-up Group F
 
Winner R7
 
 
 
Winner R6
 
Winner Group A
 
 
 
3rd Group C/D/E
 
Winner QF3
 
 
 
Winner QF2Third place play-off
 
Winner Group E
 
  
 
Runner-up Group D
 
Winner R4Loser SF1
 
 
 
Winner R3Loser SF2
 
Winner Group C
 
 
3rd Group A/B/F
 

Round of 16
Winner Group DR13rd Group B/E/F
Runner-up Group AR2Runner-up Group C
Winner Group AR33rd Group C/D/E
Runner-up Group BR4Runner-up Group F
Winner Group BR53rd Group A/C/D
Winner Group CR63rd Group A/B/F
Winner Group ER7Runner-up Group D
Winner Group FR8Runner-up Group E

Quarter-finals
Winner R2QF1Winner R1
Winner R4QF2Winner R3
Winner R7QF3Winner R6
Winner R5QF4Winner R8

Semi-finals
Winner QF1SF1Winner QF4
Winner QF3SF2Winner QF2

Third place play-off
Loser SF1vLoser SF2

Final
Winner SF1vWinner SF2

References
  1. "AFCON 2025 gets summer dates in Morocco". Afrik Foot. 21 February 2024. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  2. "AFCON 2025 to be scheduled forJuly-August 2025 in Morocco". africanews. 20 February 2024. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  3. "Afcon 2025 to be played in July-August with preliminary round starting next month". News24. 20 February 2024. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  4. "Copa África 2025: "Principio de acuerdo" para que se juegue en julio" [Africa Cup 2025: Agreement in principle to be played in July]. RPCTV (in European Spanish). 19 February 2024. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  5. "Africa Cup of Nations to switch from January staging to June in 2019". The Guardian. 21 July 2017. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  6. "Africa Cup of Nations: Date switch makes African players more attractive, say agents". BBC Sport. 21 July 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  7. Imary, Gerald (21 July 2017). "African Cup of Nations finally moved away from mid-season and expanded from 16 to 24 teams". The Independent. Archived from the original on 25 July 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  8. "FIFA Council makes key decisions for the future of football development". FIFA.com. FIFA. 26 October 2018. Archived from the original on 26 October 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  9. "CAF President Dr Motsepe announces African Super League launch details, AFCON 2023 and Champions League key decisions" (Press release). CAFOnline.com. 3 July 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2023. ...the Executive Committee has decided that this edition of the tournament (the 2023 edition) will be postponed to the months of January and February 2024. The postponement is as a direct and sole result of the adverse weather conditions in the country and after also having received further technical opinion from experts on adverse effects of staging the matches in that period, as June and July are rainy seasons in Ivory Coast.
  10. Southby, Ben (3 July 2022). "Africa Cup of Nations 2023 finals have been postponed and moved to January 2024 due to weather concerns in Ivory Coast". Eurosport. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  11. "CAF President discusses withdrawal by CAF of AFCON Guinea 2025 with Guinea Transition President". CAFOnline.com. 30 September 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  12. "Guinea stripped of 2025 Africa Cup of Nations: CAF president". beIN Sports. 30 September 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  13. "CAF re-opens bidding process for the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations 2025 hosting rights". CAFOnline.com. 26 October 2022. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  14. "Morocco to host 2025 Africa Cup of Nations". CAFOnline.com. 27 September 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  15. "Cameroon stripped of hosting 2019 Africa Cup of Nations". BBC Sport. 30 November 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  16. "CAN 2019 : le pays hôte sera connu le 9 janvier" [CAN 2019: the host country will be known on January 9]. Le Monde (in French). 10 December 2018. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  17. "Cote d'Ivoire agrees CAF timetable shift". CAFOnline.com. 30 January 2019. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  18. Diallo, Abubakr (1 October 2022). "CAF : qui va organiser la CAN 2025 retirée à la Guinée ?" [CAF: who will organize the CAN 2025 withdrawn from Guinea?]. Afrik Foot (in French). Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  19. "Tanzania, Uganda & Kenya to host 2027 TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations". CAFOnline.com. 27 September 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  20. "Morocco, East African nations win Africa Cup of Nations hosting rights". France 24. 27 September 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  21. Oyebola, Mike (25 December 2023). "CAF announces kick-off date for AFCON 2025 qualifiers". Daily Post Nigeria. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  22. "Draw for TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025 Preliminary Round set for Tuesday". CAFOnline.com. 19 February 2024. Retrieved 19 February 2024. ... the preliminary draw of TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025 scheduled for Tuesday, 20 February 2024 in Cairo, Egypt.
  23. "Draw procedures of the preliminary round of the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations, Morocco 2025" (PDF). CAFOnline.com. 18 February 2024. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  24. "TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025 Preliminary Draw conducted". CAFOnline.com. 20 February 2024. Retrieved 20 February 2024. Both home and away fixtures of the qualifiers are scheduled to take place in the next FIFA International Break between 20 – 26 March 2024.
  25. Nassar, Khaled (21 October 2021). "Regulations of the Africa Cup of Nations" (PDF). CAFOnline.com. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
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