The 35th edition of the African Cup of Nations scheduled to be held in Morocco in 2025 promises to be a historic and unique competition. Indeed, the dates announced, from December 21, 2025 to January 18, 2026, will mark a turning point in the history of this prestigious competition.
This new programming was decided by the executive committee of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) under the leadership of Patrice Motsepe. The decision to hold the CAN during the winter period was taken in order to reconcile the constraints linked to the organization of the Club World Cup in June-July 2025 in the United States. Despite the complex and sometimes difficult discussions with various stakeholders, CAF was keen to affirm its commitment to promoting inter-confederation cooperation.
Patrice Motsepe, President of CAF, stressed the importance of protecting the interests of African players playing in international clubs and strengthening relations with other football confederations and FIFA. He is committed to making African football a major player on the world stage and to guaranteeing its development and competitiveness.
This special edition of the CAN, which will span two different years, will mark a turning point in the history of the competition. Patrice Motsepe expressed his confidence in this edition, calling it “the best CAN of all time”. The draw for the qualifiers will take place on July 4 in Johannesburg, with hats reflecting the rise of certain African teams on the international stage.
This edition of CAN 2025 promises to be exciting and full of surprises. African football fans are eagerly waiting to see which teams will qualify for this prestigious competition, and how they will fare on the continental stage. This is a unique opportunity for African nations to showcase their talent and determination to reach the heights of world football. CAN 2025 will undoubtedly be an event not to be missed for all football fans.