The Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced on Friday that the Africa Cup of Nations finals have been rescheduled to December 21, 2025, through January 18, 2026.
Originally planned for mid-2025 in Morocco, the tournament’s timing was adjusted due to FIFA’s expanded Club World Cup, featuring 32 teams, which will be held in the United States next June and July.
Additionally, the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations has been delayed by a year and will now take place from July 5-26, 2025, also in Morocco.
The dates for both tournaments have been highly awaited, as CAF had previously admitted to grappling with a congested international schedule.
CAF President Patrice Motsepe explained, “The announcement of the 2025 Afcon dates in Morocco took longer than anticipated due to complex and at times difficult discussions with various stakeholders, considering the extensive international and domestic match schedules. CAF is dedicated to safeguarding and promoting the interests of African players in European and global football clubs. We are also committed to fostering mutually beneficial relationships with other football confederations and FIFA.”
African players based in Europe face a dilemma when competing in the Cup of Nations during the European league season, as they must choose between their clubs and their national teams.
To address this issue, CAF had previously decided to move the finals to mid-year every odd year starting in 2019. However, since the mid-year tournament in Egypt in 2019, CAF has reversed this decision and held the last two finals in Cameroon and Ivory Coast at the beginning of the year.
The 2025 finals will now start in December instead of January to avoid overlapping with the expanded Champions League in Europe.
The 2025 finals were initially planned to highlight Morocco’s summer tourism and demonstrate its readiness for co-hosting the 2030 World Cup with Portugal and Spain. However, the event is now set to take place during the winter months.
The qualifiers for the 2025 Cup of Nations will occur in the upcoming three international windows—September, October, and November of this year—resulting in a swift campaign. The 24 teams that qualify will then have to wait over a year before the finals begin.