The Africa Cup of Nations 2025 (AFCON 2025) is scheduled to start from 21 December 2025 till 18 January 2026 in Morocco. The competition will be played between A total of 24 national teams from Africa are going to participate competing across nine stadiums in six host cities.
Teams and Groups
The qualified teams are divided into six groups containing four teams each. Group A consists of Morocco, Mali, Zambia, and the Comoros, whereas the members of Group B will be Egypt, South Africa, Angola, and Zimbabwe. Group C is made up of Nigeria, Tunisia, Uganda, and Tanzania, whereas Group D will have Senegal, DR Congo, Benin, and Botswana. Group E will contain the nations of Algeria, Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea, and Sudan, and finally, Group F will contain the Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Gabon, and Mozambique.
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Match schedule
The group stage kicks off on 21 December 2025 with Morocco vs Comoros in Rabat and will go on till 31 December 2025. The group stage will exhibit several matches each day across multiple cities and stadiums. The Round of 16 begins on 3 January 2026, followed by quarter-finals, semi-finals, and the final on 18 January 2026 at Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat.
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The top two teams from each group, plus the four best third-placed teams, will advance to the knockout stages. The tied matches at the end of normal time will be decided on extra time and, if needed, a penalty shootout.