The African Cup of Nations 2025, known as the AFCON, will be the 35th edition of the tournament, hosted in Morocco for the second time. This edition of the tournament was originally planned to be the second summer event since 2019, aimed at avoiding scheduling conflicts with European club teams and competitions. However, FIFA's decision to schedule the new expanded Club World Cup in June and July 2025 resulted in the competition being held in the winter, as it has traditionally been. Also, the tournament will be played over the Christmas and New Year period for the first time in its history. Hence, the AFCON 2025 will be played between 21 December 2025 and 18 January 2026, with nine venues in six cities hosting the games. Among them, the capital city of Morocco, Rabat, has the most stadiums for the competition, with four, including the venue for the final, Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium. Ivory Coast are the defending champions after beating Nigeria in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations final, played in 2024.
24 teams will participate in AFCON 2025 to compete for the title, with the sides divided into six groups. The top two sides from each group, along with the best four third-placed teams, will advance to the round of 16 for the knockout stages of the competition. Group A consists of the 1976 winners and host Morocco, 1972 runners-up Mali, 2012 champions Zambia and Comoros, making just their second appearance in the competition. Record seven-time winners Egypt are placed in Group B alongside 1996 champions and last edition’s bronze medalists South Africa, Angola and Zimbabwe. Three-time winners Nigeria will lock horns with 2004 champions Tunisia, 1978 runners-up Uganda and Tanzania in Group C. Meanwhile, like their 2026 World Cup qualifying group, the 2021 AFCON champions, Senegal, will face two-time winners DR Congo and other opponents, Benin and Botswana, in Group D. 1990 and 2019 champions Algeria, 2013 runners-up Burkina Faso, 1970 winners Sudan and Equatorial Guinea form Group E. The main attention of the group stage will be on Group F, as it has been dubbed the group of death, with holders Ivory Coast logging heads against five-time winners Cameroon, Gabon and Mozambique.
Here is the full schedule of groups and fixtures of AFCON 2025:
Group A
Morocco
Mali
Zambia
Comoros
Fixtures
22 December 2025
Morocco vs Comoros - Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat (00:30)
Mali vs Zambia - Mohammed V Stadium, Casablanca (20:00)
26 December 2025
Morocco vs Mali - Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat (17:30)
Zambia vs Comoros - Mohammed V Stadium, Casablanca (20:00)
29 December 2025
Comoros vs Mali - Mohammed V Stadium, Casablanca (23:00)
Zambia vs Morocco - Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat (23:00)
Group B
Egypt
South Africa
Angola
Zimbabwe
Fixtures
22 December 2025
Egypt vs Zimbabwe - Adrar Stadium, Agadir (22:30)
23 December 2025
South Africa vs Angola - Marrakesh Stadium, Marrakesh (01:00)
26 December 2025
Egypt vs South Africa - Adrar Stadium, Agadir (22:30)
27 December 2025
Angola vs Zimbabwe - Marrakesh Stadium, Marrakesh (01:00)
30 December 2025
Angola vs Egypt - Adrar Stadium, Agadir (01:00)
Zimbabwe vs South Africa - Marrakesh Stadium, Marrakesh (01:00)
Group C
Nigeria
Tunisia
Uganda
Tanzania
Fixtures
23 December 2025
Nigeria vs Tanzania - Fez Stadium, Fez (17:30)
Tunisia vs Uganda - Rabat Olympic Stadium, Rabat (20:00)
27 December 2025
Nigeria vs Tunisia - Fez Stadium, Fez (17:30)
Uganda vs Tanzania - Al Barid Stadium, Rabat (20:00)
30 December 2025
Tunisia vs Tanzania - Rabat Olympic Stadium, Rabat (22:30)
Uganda vs Nigeria - Fez Stadium, Fez (22:30)
Group D
Senegal
DR Congo
Benin
Botswana
Fixtures
23 December 2025
Senegal vs Botswana - Ibn Batouta Stadium, Tangier (22:30)
24 December 2025
DR Congo vs Benin - Al Barid Stadium, Rabat (01:00)
27 December 2025
Senegal vs DR Congo - Ibn Batouta Stadium, Tangier (22:30)
28 December 2025
Benin vs Botswana - Rabat Olympic Stadium, Rabat (01:00)
31 December 2025
Benin vs Senegal - Ibn Batouta Stadium, Tangier (01:00)
Botswana vs DR Congo - Al Barid Stadium, Rabat (01:00)
Group E
Algeria
Burkina Faso
Equatorial Guinea
Sudan
Fixtures
24 December 2025
Algeria vs Sudan - Moulay Hassan Stadium, Rabat (17:30)
Burkina Faso vs Equatorial Guinea - Mohammed V Stadium, Casablanca (20:00)
28 December 2025
Algeria vs Burkina Faso - Moulay Hassan Stadium, Rabat (17:30)
Sudan vs Equatorial Guinea - Mohammed V Stadium, Casablanca (20:00)
31 December 2025
Equatorial Guinea vs Algeria - Moulay Hassan Stadium, Rabat (22:30)
Sudan vs Burkina Faso - Mohammed V Stadium, Casablanca (22:30)
Group F
Ivory Coast
Cameroon
Gabon
Mozambique
24 December 2025
Ivory Coast vs Mozambique - Marrakesh Stadium, Marrakesh (22:30)
25 December 2025
Cameroon vs Gabon - Adrar Stadium, Agadir (01:00)
28 December 2025
Ivory Coast vs Cameroon - Marrakesh Stadium, Marrakesh (22:30)
29 December 2025
Gabon vs Mozambique - Adrar Stadium, Agadir (01:00)
1 January 2026
Mozambique vs Cameroon - Adrar Stadium, Agadir (01:00)
Ivory Coast vs Gabon - Marrakesh Stadium, Marrakesh (01:00)
Knockout Stage
Round of 16
3 January 2026
Winner Group D vs Third Place Group B/E/F - Ibn Batouta Stadium, Tangier
Runner-up Group A vs Runner-up Group C - Mohammed V Stadium, Casablanca
4 January 2026
Winner Group A vs Third Place Group C/D/E - Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat
Runner-up Group B vs Runner-up Group F - Al Barid Stadium, Rabat
5 January 2026
Winner Group B vs Third Place A/C/D - Adrar Stadium, Agadir
Winner Group C vs Third Place A/B/F - Fez Stadium, Fez
6 January 2026
Winner Group E vs Runner-up Group D - Moulay Hassan Stadium, Rabat
Winner Group F vs Runner-up Group E - Marrakesh Stadium, Marrakesh
Quarterfinals
9 January 2026
Winner R16 2 vs Winner R16 1 - Ibn Batouta Stadium, Tangier
Winner R16 4 vs Winner R16 3 - Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat
10 January 2026
Winner R16 7 vs Winner R16 6 - Marrakesh Stadium, Marrakesh
Winner R16 5 vs Winner R15 8 - Adrar Stadium, Agadir
Semifinals
14 January 2026
Winner QF1 vs Winner QF4 - Ibn Batouta Stadium, Tangier
Winner QF3 vs Winner QF2 - Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat
Final
18 January 2026
Winner SF1 vs Winner SF2 - Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat
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