The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has announced a significant change to the schedule for the next Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). Originally slated for mid-2025, the tournament will now take place from December 21st, 2025 to January 18th, 2026, in Morocco.
This adjustment was made to avoid a clash with FIFA’s newly expanded Club World Cup, which will feature 32 teams and be held in the United States next June and July.
Additionally, CAF has rescheduled the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, also to be hosted in Morocco, from this year to July 5th-26th, 2025. These changes reflect the challenges CAF faces in managing a congested international football calendar.
CAF President Patrice Motsepe explained the complexities involved in determining the new dates. “The announcement of the dates for AFCON in Morocco 2025 took much longer than expected due to complex and sometimes challenging discussions with various stakeholders, considering the extensive international and domestic match calendars,” said Motsepe.
He emphasized CAF’s commitment to balancing the interests of African players, particularly those playing in European clubs, with the broader goals of fostering positive relationships with other football confederations and FIFA.
The scheduling of AFCON has been a contentious issue, particularly for European-based African players who often face the dilemma of choosing between club commitments and national duty. Historically, the tournament was moved to the mid-year from 2019 onwards to align better with the European off-season. However, due to logistical and climatic challenges, CAF reverted to the traditional January-February schedule for the 2021 and 2023 editions held in Cameroon and Ivory Coast, respectively.
The 2025 AFCON in Morocco was initially intended to boost the country’s summer tourism and showcase its capabilities ahead of co-hosting the 2030 World Cup with Spain and Portugal. However, the shift to a December start means the event will now unfold during Morocco’s winter season.
To expedite the qualification process, the qualifiers for the 2025 AFCON will be conducted over three rapid-fire international windows in September, October, and November this year. The 24 finalists will then have over a year to prepare before the tournament kicks off in December 2025.
This rescheduling aims to accommodate the expanding global football calendar while ensuring the tournament retains its prominence and avoids conflicting with major international competitions.
