Programmation de Coupe d’Afrique des Nations de Football 2025 – Dates, Groups and Full Schedule
The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations marked the 35th edition of the Confederation of African Football‘s premier tournament, held across Morocco from December 21, 2025, to January 18, 2026. Twenty-four national teams contested the title through a winter schedule designed to avoid the region’s extreme summer temperatures, culminating in a final that capped nearly a month of competition.
This edition represented Morocco’s second occasion hosting the continental championship, the first being in 1988. The North African nation secured hosting rights on September 27, 2023, following the Confederation of African Football’s decision to strip Guinea of the tournament in 2022 due to inadequate infrastructure.
The tournament featured nine venues distributed across six Moroccan cities, with matches beginning in late December and proceeding through a group stage into the knockout rounds. Reigning champions Ivory Coast were eliminated in the quarter-finals, while hosts Morocco advanced to the semi-finals before falling to eventual progression toward the final stages.
When Does AFCON 2025 Take Place?
The competition window spanned 29 days, with the opening match on December 21, 2025, and the final scheduled for January 18, 2026. CAF’s official schedule PDF confirmed the structure, incorporating rest days between the group stage and knockout rounds to accommodate player recovery.
- Winter scheduling: The December-January timeframe represented a deliberate shift to avoid the extreme heat of the Moroccan summer, optimizing conditions for players and spectators.
- Host return: Morocco’s 2025 hosting marked exactly 37 years since their first tournament organization in 1988.
- Quick turnaround: CAF awarded hosting rights to Morocco in September 2023, giving the nation just over two years to finalize preparations.
- Defending champions eliminated: Ivory Coast, holders of the title, exited the competition during the quarter-final phase.
- All-experienced field: Every qualified team had previously contested at least one AFCON tournament.
- Notable absence: Ghana failed to qualify for the first time since 2004, missing the expanded 24-team field.
| Attribute | Details |
|---|---|
| Official Name | 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (35th Edition) |
| Host Country | Morocco |
| Opening Match | 21 December 2025 |
| Final | 18 January 2026 |
| Total Teams | 24 |
| Groups | 6 (A through F) |
| Venues | 9 stadiums across 6 cities |
| Defending Champions | Ivory Coast (eliminated quarter-finals) |
| Host Automatic Qualification | Morocco (Pot 1) |
| Previous Host | Guinea (stripped of rights 2022) |
Which Teams Qualified and What Are the Groups?
The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations featured 24 qualified teams divided into six groups of four. The draw placed Morocco, as hosts, into Pot 1 alongside Senegal, Egypt, Algeria, Nigeria, and Ivory Coast (holders), with subsequent pots determined by CAF rankings.
Final Group Composition
The tournament draw, conducted prior to the opening fixtures, established the following groupings:
- Group A: Morocco, Mali, Zambia, Comoros
- Group B: Egypt, South Africa, Angola, Zimbabwe
- Group C: Nigeria, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda
- Group D: Benin, Botswana, DR Congo, Senegal
- Group E: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea, Sudan
- Group F: Cameroon, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Mozambique
All 24 participating nations had previously appeared in at least one AFCON tournament. The field did not include Ghana, who failed to qualify for the first time since 2004, representing one of the most significant absences in recent tournament history.
Draw Mechanics and Seeding
Teams were allocated into four pots based on the latest CAF rankings, ensuring competitive balance across the groups. Hosts Morocco automatically occupied position A1, while defending champions Ivory Coast were similarly protected in the seeding structure. The draw assigned teams from Pots 1 through 4 into groups A through F, establishing the fixture list confirmed by Sky Sports coverage.
Where Does the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations Take Place?
Morocco served as the exclusive host nation, utilizing nine venues distributed across six cities. This infrastructure deployment represented the country’s most significant continental sporting undertaking since the 1988 tournament.
Host Cities and Stadiums
CAF confirmed the venue list on January 27, 2025, selecting facilities that met international standards for broadcast and spectator capacity. Key venues included the Complexe Sportif Prince Moulay Abdellah in Rabat and the Grand Stade d’Agadir in Agadir. The distribution of matches across six cities—Rabat, Agadir, and four additional locations—aimed to ensure nationwide participation in the tournament.
Venue Distribution Strategy
The nine-stadium network accommodated the expanded 24-team format, hosting 36 group stage matches followed by the knockout progression. Cities were selected based on infrastructure readiness, accommodation capacity, and transportation connectivity, with Rabat serving as the primary administrative center for the competition.
What Is the Tournament Format and Structure?
The 2025 edition maintained CAF’s established 24-team format, featuring a group phase followed by direct elimination rounds. This structure required specific advancement criteria and tie-breaking protocols to determine the knockout bracket.
Group Stage Qualification
The tournament divided 24 teams into six groups (A through F) of four teams each. Following round-robin play, the top two teams from each group automatically advanced to the Round of 16. Additionally, the four best third-placed teams across all groups qualified for the knockout phase, creating a 16-team elimination bracket.
The format guaranteed that 16 of the 24 teams would progress beyond the group stage, with two-thirds of participants continuing into the knockouts. This structure rewarded consistent performance while allowing for some margin of error through the third-place qualification pathway.
Knockout Phase Progression
From the Round of 16, winners advanced through quarter-finals and semi-finals to the final. The tournament also included a third-place match for the semi-final losers. All knockout matches beyond the group stage required a definitive result, with extra time and penalty shootouts employed to break ties after regulation play.
While group stage results and semi-final outcomes are confirmed in official records, specific results for the third-place match on January 17 and the final on January 18 were not detailed in available tournament documentation at the time of reporting.
What Is the Complete Chronology of the Tournament?
-
CAF awards hosting rights to Morocco following Guinea’s disqualification -
Final tournament draw conducted, assigning teams to groups A through F -
Qualification processes conclude across CAF member associations -
CAF officially announces nine venues across six Moroccan cities -
Tournament opens with Morocco defeating Comoros 2-0 in Group A -
Round of 16 eliminates eight teams including holders Ivory Coast -
Quarter-finals determine final four participants -
Semi-finals see Senegal defeat Egypt and Morocco fall to Nigeria on penalties -
Third-place match contested -
Final concludes tournament programming
What Information Is Definitively Confirmed?
Established Facts
- Tournament dates: December 21, 2025 – January 18, 2026
- Host nation: Morocco (second hosting after 1988)
- Participant count: 24 national teams
- Format: 6 groups, top 2 plus 4 best third-place advance
- Venue count: 9 stadiums across 6 cities
- Group composition and draw results
- Specific match results through semi-finals
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