The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations was widely seen as one of the most attractive and exciting iterations of the tournament in recent years.
The month-long spectacle in Côte d’Ivoire concluded on February 10, 2024, when the hosts faced Nigeria in the final in Abidjan. After falling behind by a goal, the Elephants came back to win the match 2-1 and lift the trophy, with striker Sebastien Haller, who took time away from football following a cancer diagnosis in 2022, scoring the decisive goal.
Attention now turns to the upcoming AFCON. Given its position as a major international tournament that can sometimes be detrimental to European football’s biggest teams and competitions, the planning and logistics of the event are key.
Here, The Jugo Mobile details everything you need to know about the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations, including the tournament’s most important dates, host cities and stadiums that will host the games.
When and where will the next AFCON be?
The next African Cup of Nations begins in December 2025 and will take place in Morocco.
It will be the second time that the North African nation has organized a final tournament. They hosted the AFCON for the first time in 1988 and were scheduled to do so again in 2015, but the tournament had to be moved to Equatorial Guinea due to the Ebola virus outbreak.
On June 21, 2024, it was confirmed that the tournament would take place from December 21, 2025 and until January 18, 2026. That decision was made despite previous indications that it would take place in June and July, the summer months of the northern hemisphere. The 2023 event was moved to early 2024 to avoid the rainy season in Côte d’Ivoire, but a June-July schedule is usually preferable as it does not cause scheduling problems with Europe’s major club competitions.
CAF President Dr. Patrice Motsepe said: “I am confident that AFCON Morocco 2025 will be a great success and will be the best AFCON in the history of this competition.
Guinea had been chosen as hosts for 2025, but was stripped of those rights amid concerns about its preparations to host the tournament. Morocco was chosen as host after a new vote in September 2023.
AFCON 2025 dates: When will the tournament take place?
In June 2024 it was confirmed that the next AFCON will begin on Sunday, December 21, 2025 and end with the final on Sunday, January 18, 2026.
The 2025 tournament was initially scheduled to take place in June and July 2025.
Patrice Motsepe, president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), said in January that the new FIFA Club World Cup could cause a scheduling conflict with the 2025 AFCON finals. will be held in the United States from June 15 to July 13, 2025.
“We want the Nations Cup to be held when it is most favorable and convenient for the tournament,” Motsepe said. “We are still negotiating the dates with FIFA.”
Motsepe said there were “complex and at times challenging discussions with various stakeholders, in light of the extensive domestic and international match calendars” when it came to finalizing plans for the AFCON.
AFCON 2025 stadiums, venues and host cities
The 2025 African Cup of Nations will be held in six cities in Morocco.
Tangier, Rabat, Casablanca, Agadir, Marrakech and Fez will host matches in the tournament.
The capacities of many of the six venues are being expanded ahead of the finals and with Morocco co-hosting the 2030 World Cup alongside Portugal and Spain.
| Stadium | City | Ability |
| Ibn Batuta Stadium | Tangier | 65,000 (expanding to 75,000) |
| Moulay Abdellah Stadium | Rabat | 50,000 (expanding to 69,500) |
| Mohamed V Stadium | White House | 45,891 |
| Adrar Stadium | Agadir | 45,480 (expanding to 70,000) |
| Marrakech stadium | Marrakesh | 45,240 |
| Fes Stadium | Fez | 45,000 |
Who has qualified for AFCON 2025? List of teams in the final
In the 2025 African Cup of Nations, 24 teams will participate in the group stage.
Starting February 2024, only Morocco It is guaranteed a place in the tournament as the host country.
Qualification for AFCON 2025 begins later in 2024 and will run until November this year. The lowest-ranked nations will compete in a preliminary round before the main group stage begins in September.
AFCON 2025 Qualification Schedule
- Preliminary round: March 18-26, 2024
- First and second day: September 2 to 10, 2024
- Third and fourth day: October 7 to 15, 2024
- Fifth and sixth day: November 11 to 19, 2024
Who has won the most African Cup of Nations titles?
Egypt has been the dominant nation in the history of the African Cup of Nations. with The Pharaohs winning seven titles including the first edition of the contest back in 1957.
Six other nations have won the trophy more than once with a total of 15 tournament winners.
| Range | Nation | AFCON Titles | Years earned |
| 1. | Egypt | 7 | 1957, 1959, 1986, 1998, 2006, 2008, 2010 |
| 2. | Cameroon | 5 | 1984, 1988, 2000, 2002, 2017 |
| 3. | Ghana | 4 | 1963, 1965, 1978, 1982 |
| 4. | Ivory Coast | 3 | 1992, 2015, 2023 |
| = | Nigeria | 3 | 1980, 1994, 2013 |
| = | Algeria | 2 | 1990, 2019 |
| = | DR Congo | 2 | 1968, 1974 |
| 8. | Zambia | 1 | 2012 |
| = | Tunisia | 1 | 2004 |
| = | Sudan | 1 | 1970 |
| = | Senegal | 1 | 2021 |
| = | Ethiopia | 1 | 1962 |
| = | Morocco | 1 | 1976 |
| = | South Africa | 1 | nineteen ninety six |
| = | Congo | 1 | 1972 |
