The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) is scheduled to be held in Morocco from December 21, 2025, to January 18, 2026. This 28-day continental football event will feature 24 teams competing for the prestigious title. It’s worth noting that this will be the first time in Afcon history that the tournament kicks off in December and runs over the Christmas and New Year period
The decision was taken according to reports reaching Citi Sports, to prevent the 2025 AFCON from clashing with next year’s expanded version of the FIFA Club World Cup that will be held in June 15 to July 13 in the United States of America.
The expanded format will feature 32 teams due to compete for the world title with the likes of Real Madrid, Chelsea, Manchester City, Al-Ahly of Egypt, Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa and Wydad Casablanca of Morocco keyed in as qualified teams.
The new dates for next year’s AFCON also takes the competition away from the intense summer season to the cold winter season in the North African nation.
CAF President Patrice Motsepe (Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images for Global Citizen)Nigeria (green) v Cote D’Ivoire in 2023 AFCON Final Photo Courtesy: CAF
The last AFCON was hosted and won by Cote D’Ivoire via a 2-1 win over Nigeria.
