PARIS OLYMPIC GAMES
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) President Patrice Motsepe said on Friday that the next Africa Cup of Nations will begin in Morocco from December 21, 2025, to January 18, 2026.
The CAF president, after a virtual executive committee meeting at the headquarters in Cairo, said Morocco 2025 will be the best AFCON.
He said: “I am confident that the CAF AFCON Morocco 2025 will be extremely successful and the best AFCON in the history of this competition.”
Originally scheduled for June and July 2025, the AFCON was moved to avoid a clash with the inaugural Club World Cup in the United States from June 15 to July 13 next year.
An added challenge for CAF officials was the desire to avoid a clash of dates with the UEFA Champions League in Europe.
Matchday six of the elite European club competition ends on December 11, 2025, and matchday seven begins on January 21, 2026.
However, the new dates are sure to upset many Premier League clubs as the Christmas-New Year period is frenetic, with teams playing many matches in a short period.
English media reports have suggested clubs might not release African stars as they are compelled to do so for only one international championship per year, and the next World Cup is in 2026.
Although the majority of the tournament will take place the following year, CAF could argue that it is the 2025 AFCON.
Finding suitable dates for the AFCON, a 24-nation tournament won by hosts Ivory Coast last February, has become increasingly difficult.
Persecondnews had earlier reported that the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) will now take place in Morocco at the beginning of 2026, according to a statement from the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
The African football fiesta, which was originally scheduled to take place in June, faced a clash with the expanded 32-team Club World Cup, set to be held in the United States from June 15 to July 13.
This decision poses a setback for Morocco, which had aimed to utilize the summer tournament to showcase its growing tourism sector and demonstrate its capability to host major events ahead of the 2030 World Cup co-hosted with Portugal and Spain.
Additionally, CAF has faced criticism for its failure to finalise dates for the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon), also scheduled to be held in Morocco.
Meanwhile, uncertainty looms over the second edition of the African Football League, the continent’s newly launched super league.
While the first edition featured eight selected clubs competing for record prize money in a condensed two-month knockout competition, CAF President Patrice Motsepe had promised an expansion to 24 teams for the next edition.
However, CAF’s recent announcement revealed that next season’s African Champions League and Confederation Cup group stages would occupy the same October to December timeframe previously allocated to the African Football League.
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