The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has tentatively agreed that the 2025 Cup of Nations will be hosted in Morocco during July and August of the following year, according to a CAF official speaking to AFP.
Recently, CAF president Patrice Motsepe declined to officially confirm the timing for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations, citing concerns about the limited timeframe for organizing qualifying matches if the tournament were to occur in January and February.
Nevertheless, scheduling the event for June and July in the subsequent year poses a potential conflict with FIFA’s extended Club World Cup, scheduled to happen in North America.
Speaking on condition of anonymity on Monday, a member of the competitions committee told AFP that there was “an agreement in principle between CAF and the Moroccan Football Federation for the AFCON to be held during the summer, more precisely in July and August” 2025.
“This agreement was found with the support of FIFA after talks that began several months ago and which intensified during the last edition which finished this month in Ivory Coast,” the source added.
“The dates currently proposed are July 20-August 16 or 17, 2025.”
The last two Africa Cup of Nations were both pushed back from the original dates. The 2021 tournament hosted by Cameroon, was played in January and February of 2022. The most recent edition had initially been planned for June and July last year but was rescheduled over weather concerns.
Qualifying for the 2025 AFCON has yet to start. A preliminary round is due to be played next month.
The 2027 Cup of Nations will be jointly hosted by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.