Fixtures, schedule, Premier League players in cup

Ivory Coast will look to defend their Africa Cup of Nations crown against 23 qualified teams in Morocco at the end of the year.

Morocco was confirmed as tournament host after Guinea conceded their plans to improve stadia and infrastructure would not be ready in time.

Morocco last staged the competition in 1988.

When is 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 Fès (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 Héritier 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, schedule (all times are local)

Sunday 21 December 2025

• Group A: Morocco vs Comoros (Rabat 1, 8pm)

Monday 22 December 2025

• Group A: Mali vs Zambia (Rabat 2, 3:30pm)
• Group B: Egypt vs Zimbabwe (Agadir, 6pm)
• Group B: South Africa vs Angola (Marrakech, 8:30pm)

Tuesday 23 December 2025

• Group C: Nigeria vs Tanzania (Fes, 1pm)
• Group C: Tunisia vs Uganda (Rabat 4, 3:30pm)
• Group D: Senegal vs Botswana (Tangier, 6pm)
• Group D: DR Congo vs Benin (Rabat 3, 8:30pm)

Wednesday 24 December 2025

• Group E: Algeria vs Sudan (Rabat 2, 1pm)
• Group E: Burkina Faso vs Equatorial Guinea (Casablanca, 3:30pm)
• Group F: Cote D’Ivoire vs Mozambique (Marrakech, 6pm)
• Group F: Cameroon vs Gabon (Agadir, 8:30pm)

Friday 26 December 2025

• Group A: Morocco vs Mali (Rabat 1, 1pm)
• Group A: Zambia vs Comoros (Casablanca, 3:30pm)
• Group B: Egypt vs South Africa (Agadir, 6pm)
• Group B: Angola vs Zimbabwe (Marrakech, 8:30pm)

Saturday 27 December 2025

• Group C: Nigeria vs Tunisia (Fes, 1pm)
• Group C: Uganda vs Tanzania (Rabat 3, 3:30pm)
• Group D: Senegal vs DR Congo (Tangier, 6pm)
• Group D: Benin vs Botswana (Rabat 4, 8:30pm)

Sunday 28 December 2025

• Group E: Algeria vs Burkina Faso (Rabat 2, 1pm)
• Group E: Equatorial Guinea vs Sudan (Casablanca, 3:30pm)
• Group F: Cote D’Ivoire vs Cameroon (Marrakech, 6pm)
• Group F: Gabon vs Mozambique (Agadir, 8:30pm)

Monday 29 December 2025

• Group A: Zambia vs Morocco (Rabat 1, 6:30pm)
• Group A: Comoros vs Mali (Casablanca, 6:30pm)
• Group B: Angola vs Egypt (Agadir, 8:30pm)
• Group B: Zimbabwe vs South Africa (Marrakech, 8:30pm)

Tuesday 30 December 2025

• Group C: Uganda vs Nigeria (Fes, 6pm)
• Group C: Tanzania vs Tunisia (Rabat 4, 6pm)
• Group D: Benin vs Senegal (Tangier, 8:30pm)
• Group D: Botswana vs DR Congo (Rabat 3, 8:30pm)

Wednesday 31 December 2025

• Group E: Equatorial Guinea vs Algeria (Rabat 2, 6pm)
• Group E: Sudan vs Burkina Faso (Casablanca, 6pm)
• Group F: Gabon vs Cote D’Ivoire, (Marrakech, 8:30pm)
• Group F: Mozambique vs Cameroon (Agadir, 8:30pm)

Round of 16

Saturday 3 January 2026

• Group D winners vs Group B/E/F third-place (Tangier, 6pm)
• Group A runners-up vs Group C runners-up (Casablanca, 8:30pm)

Sunday 4 January 2026

• Group A winners vs Group C/D/E third-place (Rabat 1, 6pm)
• Group B runners-up vs Group F runners-up (Rabat 3, 8:30pm)

Monday 5 January 2026

• Group B winners vs Group A/C/D third-place (Agadir, 6pm)
• Group C winners vs Group A/B/F third-place (Fes, 8:30pm)

Tuesday 6 January 2026

• Group E winners vs Group D runners-up (Rabat 2, 6pm)
• Group F winners vs Group E runners-up (Marrakech, 8:30pm)

Quarter-finals

Friday 9 January 2026

• Quarter-final 1 (Tangier, 6pm)
• Quarter-final 2 (Rabat 1, 8:30pm)

Saturday 10 January 2026

• Quarter-final 3 (Marrakech, 6pm)
• Quarter-final 4 (Agadir, 8:30pm)

Semi-finals

Wednesday 14 January 2026

• Semi-final 1 (Tangier, 6pm)
• Semi-final 2 (Rabat, 8:30pm)

Third-place match

Saturday 17 January 2026

• Third-place match (Casablanca, 8pm)

Final

Sunday 18 January 2026

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)