According to Confederation of African Football (CAF) president, Patrice Motsepe, the next Africa Cup of Nations will take place in Morocco from December 21, 2025, to January 18, 2026.
Motsepe announced this following a virtual executive committee meeting CAF hosted on Friday night at its Cairo headquarters.
The AFCON, which had been slated for June and July of 2025, was rescheduled to avoid conflicting with the first-ever Club World Cup, which will take place in the US from June 15 to July 13 of that same year.
An added challenge for CAF officials was the desire to avoid a clash of dates with the UEFA Champions League in Europe.
Matchday six of the elite European club competition ends on December 11 2025 and matchday seven begins on January 21 2026.
However, the new dates are sure to upset many Premier League clubs as the Christmas-New Year period is frenetic with teams playing many matches in a short period.
English media reports have suggested clubs might not release African stars as they are compelled to do so for only one international championship per year and the next World Cup is in 2026.
CAF could argue that it is the 2025 AFCON, although most of the tournament will be staged the following year.
However, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Patrice Motsepe said “I am confident that the CAF AFCON Morocco 2025 will be extremely successful and the best AFCON in the history of this competition,” he said.
