AFCON 2025 Gets a New Date As CAF Set to Hold Competition in December

• The upcoming AFCON is reportedly set to be held in December
• It was originally scheduled by CAF to be held from June to July
• Morocco won the bid to host the 2025 AFCON ahead of Algeria

The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations looks set to be moved to December 2025 by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) after initial plans to host the biennial competition in the summer.

The competition which is set to be hosted in Morocco, was proposed to be staged in July by CAF but had to be shifted after complaints of it clashing with a major FIFA tournament.

According to Complete Sports, the AFCON, which has always been plagued with controversy due to its scheduling, has always been staged between January and February, though the 2019 edition in Egypt took place in June and July.

Where to watch the FIFA World Cup in 2022: A guide on how to watch this year’s World Cup

Football

Morocco won the bid to host the 2025 AFCON over a joint bid from Nigeria and Benin, with Algeria formally dropping out of the race.

Ivory Coast are currently the defending champions of the competition after the Elephants defeated Nigeria’s Super Eagles 2-1 on home soil to win their third title.

Why is CAF changing AFCON’s date?

Africa’s football governing body’s decision to move the date of the 2025 AFCON tournament was because it is going to clash with the newly expanded 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, BSN Sports reports.

The competition, which is to be played in the USA, has been expanded to 34 teams and will clash with the AFCON as both tournaments had initially been slated to be played in the summer of 2025.

CAF wants to avoid more country versus club row and has decided to move its own competition further down the year to avoid any clash with the FIFA Club World Cup tournament.

African Cup of Nations winners: A comprehensive list of all past champions to date

Football

Ivory Coast claims third AFCON title

Sports Brief had earlier reported that Sebastien Haller was the hero, scoring the winning goal as Ivory Coast rallied from behind to defeat Nigeria in the 2023 AFCON final in February.

The Super Eagles took the lead before half-time through William Troost-Ekong, but Franck Kessie equalized after the break before Haller completed the game in style.

The host nation dominated the early exchanges, with the Brighton forward coming close after meeting a cross from the left sent by the energetic Simon Adingra.