The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has announced that the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) will kick off in December of that year.
Following the conclusion of the 2023 AFCON on February 11, 2024, there has been considerable speculation and discussions regarding the start date for the 2025 tournament.
The original plan was for the tournament to kick off in the summer of 2025 in Morocco, unlike the last two editions, which began in winter due to unfavorable weather conditions in the host countries.
However, FIFA scheduled the expanded version of the Club World Cup for the same period CAF intended to host the 2025 AFCON. As a result, the African football body had to find an alternative date, avoiding the 2026 FIFA World Cup year.
Initially, the January and February 2026 window was out of consideration. The 2021 AFCON in Cameroon took place from January to February 2022, and the 2023 AFCON in Ivory Coast occurred from January to February 2024 due to similar weather concerns.
After a virtual executive meeting on Friday, CAF agreed that AFCON 2025 will start on December 21, 2025, and conclude on January 18, 2026.
Plateau News previously reported that the 2025 AFCON draw will be held in Johannesburg, South Africa, in June. The qualifiers for the tournament will commence in September 2024 and end in October 2024.