Ivory Coast will look to defend their Africa Cup of Nations crown against 23 qualified AFCON 2025 teams in Morocco.
The hosts, who last staged the competition in 1988, were among the favourites to triumph at the start of the tournament.
Mohamed Salah’s Egypt were also considered contenders alongside teams including Senegal, whose squad features former Reds forward and two-time African Football of the Year Sadio Mane.
101GreatGoals.com has details on the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations schedule, as well as host cities and the groups.
Africa Cup of Nations: When is the AFCON 2025?
In a change to the normal scheduling, and partially due to the expanded Club World Cup this summer, AFCON 2025 will be played over Christmas and New Year.
It is due to get underway on December 21, 2025 with the final scheduled for January 18, 2026.
What are the host cities for AFCON 2025?
Agadir – Grand Stade d’Agadir (capacity – 41,144)
Casablanca – Complexe Sportif Mohammed V (45,000)
Fes – Complexe Sportif de Fes (35,468)
Marrakech – Grand Stade de Marrakech (41,245)
Rabat – Complexe Sportif Prince Moulay Abdellah (69,500)
Rabat – Stade Al Barid (18,000)
Rabat – Stade Olympique Annexe Complexe Sportif Prince Moulay Abdellah (21,000)
Rabat – Complexe Sportif Prince Heritier Moulay EL Hassan (22,000)
Tangier – Grand Stade de Tanger (75,600)
The final will be staged at the Complexe Sportif Prince Moulay Abdellah.
Which nations have qualified for AFCON 2025?
Morocco were certain of their place as hosts, but still went through qualifying. Ghana were the big-name casualties, failing to advance from Group F.
Tunisia qualified for a record 17th time in a row.
The teams to have qualified are: Morocco, Senegal, Egypt, Algeria, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Mali, Tunisia, South Africa, DR Congo, Burkina Faso, Gabon, Angola, Zambia, Uganda, Equatorial Guinea, Benin, Mozambique, Comoros, Tanzania, Sudan, Zimbabwe and Botswana.
What are the groups for AFCON 2025?
Group A
- Comoros
- Mali
- Morocco
- Zambia
Group B
- Angola
- Egypt
- South Africa
- 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
- Ivory Coast
- Gabon
- Mozambique
The top two teams from each group, plus the best four third-placed teams will advance to the round of 16.
AFCON 2025 fixtures, full Africa Cup of Nations schedule
All times are GMT.
Sunday, December 21 2025
- Group A: Morocco vs Comoros (Rabat, 19:00)
Monday, December 22 2025
- Group A: Mali vs Zambia (Casablanca, 14:00)
- Group B: South Africa vs Angola (Marrakech, 17:00)
- Group B: Egypt vs Zimbabwe (Agadir, 20:00)
Tuesday, December 23 2025
- Group D: Senegal vs Botswana (Tangier, 12:30)
- Group D: DR Congo vs Benin (Rabat, 15:00)
- Group C: Nigeria vs Tanzania (Fes, 17:30)
- Group C: Tunisia vs Uganda (Rabat, 20:00)
Wednesday, December 24 2025
- Group E: Burkina Faso vs Equatorial Guinea (Casablanca, 12:30)
- Group E: Algeria vs Sudan (Rabat, 15:00)
- Group F: Ivory Coast vs Mozambique (Marrakech, 17:30)
- Group F: Cameroon vs Gabon (Agadir, 20:00)
Friday, December 26 2025
- Group B: Angola vs Zimbabwe (Marrakech, 12:30)
- Group B: Egypt vs South Africa (Agadir, 15:00)
- Group A: Zambia vs Comoros (Casablanca, 17:30)
- Group A: Morocco vs Mali (Rabat, 20:00)
Saturday, December 27 2025
- Group D: Benin vs Botswana (Rabat, 12:30)
- Group D: Senegal vs DR Congo (Tangier, 15:00)
- Group C: Uganda vs Tanzania (Rabat 3, 17:30)
- Group C: Nigeria vs Tunisia (Fes, 20:00)
Sunday, December 28 2025
- Group F: Gabon vs Mozambique (Agadir, 12:30)
- Group E: Equatorial Guinea vs Sudan (Casablanca, 15:00)
- Group E: Algeria vs Burkina Faso (Rabat, 17:30)
- Group F: Ivory Coast vs Cameroon, (Marrakech, 20:00)
Monday, December 29 2025
- Group B: Angola vs Egypt (Agadir, 16:00)
- Group B: Zimbabwe vs South Africa (Marrakech, 16:00)
- Group A: Comoros vs Mali (Casablanca, 19:00)
- Group A: Zambia vs Morocco (Rabat, 19:00)
Tuesday, December 30 2025
- Group C: Tanzania vs Tunisia (Rabat, 16:00)
- Group C: Uganda vs Nigeria (Fes, 16:00)
- Group D: Benin vs Senegal (Tangier, 19:00)
- Group D: Botswana vs DR Congo (Rabat, 19:00)
Wednesday, December 31 2025
- Group E: Equatorial Guinea vs Algeria (Rabat, 16:00)
- Group E: Sudan vs Burkina Faso (Casablanca, 16:00)
- Group F: Gabon vs Ivory Coast (Marrakech, 19:00)
- Group F: Mozambique vs Cameroon (Agadir, 19:00)
Africa Cup of Nations 2025 round of 16
Saturday, January 3 2026
- SR1: Group D winners vs Group B/E/F third-place (Tangier, 16:00)
- SR2: Group A runners-up vs Group C runners-up (Casablanca, 19:00)
Sunday, January 4
- SR3: Group A winners vs Group C/D/E third-place (Rabat, 16:00)
- SR4: Group B runners-up vs Group F runners-up (Rabat, 19:00)
Monday, January 5
- SR5: Group B winners vs Group A/C/D third-place (Agadir, 6pm)
- SR6: Group C winners vs Group A/B/F third-place (Fes, 8:30pm)
Tuesday, January 6
- SR7: Group E winners vs Group D runners-up (Rabat 2, 6pm)
- SR8: Group F winners vs Group E runners-up (Marrakech, 8:30pm)
Africa Cup of Nations 2025 quarter-finals
Friday, January 9
- QF1: Winner SR2 vs Winner SR1 (Tangier, 16:00)
- QF2: Winner SR4 vs Winner SR3 (Rabat, 19:00)
Saturday, January 10
- QF3: Winner SR7 vs Winner SR6 (Marrakech, 16:00)
- QF4: Winner SR5 vs Winner SR8 (Agadir, 19:00)
Africa Cup of Nations 2025 semi-finals
Wednesday, January 14
- SF1: Winner QF1 vs Winner QF4 (Tangier, 17:00)
- SF2: Winner QF3 vs Winner QF2 (Rabat, 20:00)
Africa Cup of Nations 2025 third-place match
Saturday, January 17
- SF1 vs SF2 losers (Casablanca, 16:00)
Africa Cup of Nations 2025 final
Sunday, January 18
- SF1 vs SF2 winners (Rabat, 19:00)
Which Premier League players could take part and miss vital domestic fixtures?
- Liverpool: Mohamed Salah (Egypt)
- Manchester City: Rayan Ait-Nouri (Algeria), Omar Marmoush (Egypt)
- Manchester United: Bryan Mbeumo (Cameroon), Amad Diallo (Ivory Coast), Noussair Mazraoui (Morocco)
- Tottenham: Yves Bissouma (Mali), Pape Matar Sarr (Senegal)
- Brighton: Carlos Baleba (Cameroon)
- Brentford: Dango Ouattara (Burkina Faso), Frank Onyeka (Nigeria)
- Burnley: Axel Tuanzebe (DR Congo), Lyle Foster (South Africa), Hannibal Mejbri (Tunisia)
- Crystal Palace: Ismaila Sarr (Senegal)
- Everton: Idrissa Gueye (Senegal), Iliman Ndiaye (Senegal)
- Fulham: Calvin Bassey (Nigeria), Alex Iwobi (Nigeria), Samuel Chukwueze (Nigeria)
- Nottingham Forest: Willy Boly (Ivory Coast), Ibrahim Sangare (Ivory Coast)
- West Ham: Aaron Wan-Bissaka (DR Congo), El Hadji Malick Diouf (Senegal)
- Wolves: Emmanuel Agbadou (Ivory Coast), Tawanda Chirewa (Zimbabwe)
- Sunderland: Bertrand Traore (Burkina Faso), Noah Sadiki (DR Congo), Arthur Masuaku (DR Congo), Chemsdine Talbi (Morocco), Reinildo Mandava (Mozambique), Habib Diarra (Senegal)
About the Author
