While the race to qualfy for the 2026 World Cup has dominated the international scene in recent weeks, another major international tournament is around the corner.
The 2025 Afican Cup of Nations begins in Morocco on December 21, as the Ivory Coast look to defend the title that they won so dramatically when they came from behind to defeat Nigeria in February 2024.
Where will the 2025 AFCON take place?
Where will AFCON 2025 take place?
Morocco will be playing host to AFCON for the second time, following the 1988 tournament, when they reached the semi-finals, losing to champions Cameroon.
It's been something of a long road for Morocco to welcome the competition back, as they had been originally scheduled to host the 2015 edition, but withdrew citing fears regarding the Western Afican Ebola virus epidemic.
Guinea had originally been given the tournament, but were stripped of the competition in 2022 due to inadequacy of the speed of progress in hosting preparations, with Morocco being confirmed as the new hosts in September 2023.
Tournament format
How many teams will be at AFCON 2025?
This year's tournament will again feature 24 teams and follow the same format that has been in place since the 2019 edition, when it was upped from 16 sides.
That means there will be six groups of four teams, with the top two qualifying automatically from each group, with the four best third-placed teams also advancing to the round of 16.
These third-placed sides will be ranked by points, then goal difference, then goals scored to determine the four qualifiers.
Dates and fixtures
What are the dates for AFCON 2025?
AFCON 2025 will take place between 21 December 2025 and 18 January 2026.
Group stage | December 21 - December 31, 2025 |
Round of 16 | January 3 - January 6, 2026 |
Quarter-finals | January 9 - January 10, 2026 |
Semi-finals | January 14, 2026 |
Third place play-off | January 17, 2026 |
Final | January 18, 2026 |
Qualified countries
Which countries have qualified for AFCON 2025?
- Morocco (hosts)
- Senegal
- Egypt
- Algeria
- Nigeria
- Ivory Coast
- Cameroon
- Mali
- Tunisia
- South Africa
- DR Congo
- Burkina Faso
- Gabon
- Angola
- Zambia
- Uganda
- Equatorial Guinea
- Benin
- Mozambique
- Comoros
- Tanzania
- Sudan
- Zimbabwe
- Botswana
Despite qualifying automatically as hosts, Morocco opted to take part in the qualification tournament, topping their group for good measure.
All 24 of the teams to qualify have previously played in the tournament, with Tunisia making it through 17 times on the bounce, extending their record for consecutvie participations.
The most notable absentees are Ghana, with the Black Stars finishing bottom of Group F and missing out on qualfication for the first time since 2004.
Groups
What are the groups for AFCON 2025?
Group A:
Morocco, Mali, Zambia, Comoros
Group B:
Egypt, South Africa, Angola, Zimbabwe
Group C:
Nigeria, Tunisia, Uganda, Tanzania
Group D:
Senegal, DR Congo, Benin, Botswana
Group E:
Algeria, Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea, Sudan
Group F:
Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Gabon, Mozambique
Kick-off times
What are the kick-off times for AFCON 2025?
During the group stage, matches will be played in four time slots, with Morocco operating on CET, which is one hour ahead of GMT.
These group stage matches will be played at 13:00, 15:30, 18:30 and 20:00, local time.
The knockout stages will take place at 18:00 and 20:30, with the third-placed play-off and final kicking off at 20:00.
Mascots
The mascot for AFCON 2025 is yet to be unveiled, but it won't be long until we know what has followed up 2023's Akwaba the elephant.
Stadiums
These are the AFCON 2025 stadiums:
- Adrar Stadium, Agadir, 45,000
- Stade Mohammed V, Casablanca, 45,000
- Fez Stadium, Fez, 45,000
- Marrakesh Stadium, Marrakesh, 45,000
- Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat, 68,700
- Moulay Hassan Stadium, Rabat, 22,000
- Rabat Olympic Stadium, Rabat, 21,000
- Al Barid Stadium, Rabat, 18,000
- Ibn Batouta Stadium, Tangier, 75,000
AFCON 2025 final
Where is the AFCON 2025 final?
The final of AFCON 2025 will be played at the 68,700-capacity Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, the tournament's largest venue.
The stadium opened in September 2025 and is 7km away from the centre of the country' captial, Rabat. It was built in just two years on the same site as the previous Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium and will host seven games during the tournament, including all of hosts Morocco's group games.
It will also be one of the host venues for the 2030 World Cup, which Morocco will co-host with Portugal and Spain.
Tickets
How can you buy AFCON 2025 tickets?
Fans can currently purchase tickets for most matches at AFCON 2025 through the official ticket portal.
Supporters will need to register and obtain a Fan ID, with the final sales window opening on November 21, when the final batch of tickets will become available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Official match ball
What is the official match ball at AFCON 2025?
Introducing ITRI The Official Match Ball for TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025. ITRIs design features traditional Moroccan zellij geometric patternsThe Official Match Ball will make its debut at the TotalEnergies CAF AFCON Morocco 2025, which pic.twitter.com/ZsuXGRGiFTNovember 10, 2025
Puma have unveiled the match ball for the tournament, named 'ITRI', and featuring traditional Moroccan zellij geometric patterns.
