2025 Africa Cup of Nations
The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, known in short as the 2025 AFCON or CAN 2025 and for sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, was the 35th edition of the biennial Africa Cup of Nations tournament organised by the Confederation of African Football. It was the second edition hosted by Morocco after 1988. Morocco was originally scheduled to host the 2015 edition, but withdrew due to fears stemming from the Western African Ebola virus epidemic.
Due to FIFA expanding its Club World Cup competition to 32 teams and having it scheduled for June and July 2025, this edition of the tournament was played between 21 December 2025 and 18 January 2026. It was the first time that the tournament was played over the Christmas and New Year period. The situation was further complicated by the addition of two extra match days scheduled for the last two weeks of January in the expanded 2025–26 UEFA Champions League season.
This edition of the tournament was scheduled to be the second after 2019 to take place during the northern hemisphere's summer, in order to reduce scheduling conflicts with European club teams and competitions; the previous 2023 edition was moved to January and February 2024 owing to the adverse summer weather conditions in Ivory Coast. Guinea was originally set as hosts for this edition of the tournament, but had its hosting rights stripped after affirming its inadequacy of hosting preparations. After a second bidding process, Morocco was named as the new hosts on 27 September 2023.
Defending champions Ivory Coast were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Egypt.
Senegal secured their second title after defeating hosts Morocco 1–0 in the final after extra time.
Host selection
CAF stripped Cameroon from hosting the 2019 edition of the tournament on 30 November 2018 due to lack of speed of progress in preparations, but accepted former CAF president Ahmad Ahmad's request to stage the next edition in 2021. Consequently, the original hosts of 2021, Ivory Coast, became hosts of the 2023 edition with Guinea instead hosting the 2025 edition, which until then had no hosts. The CAF President confirmed the timetable shift after a meeting with Ivorian president Alassane Ouattara in Abidjan, Ivory Coast on 30 January 2019. On 30 September 2022, current CAF president Patrice Motsepe announced that Guinea had been stripped as host for the 2025 edition due to inadequacy and speed of progress in hosting preparations. Consequently, a new process was re-opened for a replacement host bidder. On 27 September 2023, the 2025 edition was awarded to Morocco and the 2027 edition to Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.Marketing
Sponsorship
| Official Title Sponsor | Official Global Partners | Official Competition Sponsors | Official Suppliers |
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Mascot
The tournament mascot, named Assad was revealed on 8 December 2025. It was a Barbary lion, a reference to Morocco's national animal and nickname of the national team of Morocco.Match ball
On 10 November 2025, CAF and Puma unveiled "Itri" as the official tournament edition match ball. The ball, covered in zellij art in red and green, was influenced by an ancient mosaic tradition known for its complex geometric decoration and reflects the shared spirit and enthusiasm of football across Africa. Produced by Puma using Orbital 6 technology, the design combined star-based forms, floral motifs and circular patterns, conveying joy and the coming together of the 24 nations taking part in the tournament.Official song
The official song was "Africallez", which stood as one of the tournament's emblems, fusing sporting fervor, cultural identity, and a message of continental unity. Conceived as a true Pan-African anthem, "Africallez" was performed by three artists: Beninese diva Angélique Kidjo, a global icon of African music; Moroccan singer Lartiste, a key figure in the urban and international music scenes; and Moroccan artist Jaylane, who symbolized the country's new artistic generation.Prize money
The winners received US$10 million, an increase from US$7 million for the 2023 event.Qualification
The qualifiers were held between 20 March and 19 November 2024, starting with the preliminary round and then the group stage. The preliminary round draw was held on 20 February 2024, 14:00 CAT at the CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt. The eight involved national teams were seeded into two pots of four based on the FIFA World Rankings from 15 February 2024, Eritrea and Seychelles were excluded from the qualifiers. The eight teams were split into four ties which were played in home-and-away two-legged format. The four winners advanced to the group stage to join the 44 teams which entered directly. The group stage draw took place on 4 July 2024, 14:30 CAT in Johannesburg, South Africa. The 48 national teams involved were divided into twelve groups of four each, which consisted of the 44 teams that entered directly, in addition to the four winners of the preliminary round, and were seeded into four pots of twelve each based on the June 2024 FIFA World Rankings.Qualified teams
The following 24 teams qualified for this edition; all of them had previously participated in the tournament. Morocco, the host country, played in the qualifiers in Group B despite qualifying automatically. Ghana, four-time African champions, failed to qualify after finishing bottom of the Group F, missing out on the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time since 2004. Tunisia qualified for the 22nd time and extended their record for consecutive participations, reaching the tournament for the 17th time in a row, having not been absent since 1994. Comoros, Gabon, Sudan and Zimbabwe made their return to the continental tournament after missing out in 2023. Benin and Uganda made their return after an almost five-year absence from the event. Botswana qualified for the second time after their first participation in 2012. Cape Verde, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania and Namibia also failed to qualify after appearing in 2023.Venues
On 27 January 2025, the Confederation of African Football, together with the Royal Moroccan Football Federation and the Local Organizing Committee of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations for Morocco 2025, announced the nine venues in six cities that would host matches in the competition.| City | Stadium | Capacity | Image |
| Agadir | Adrar Stadium | 46,000 | |
| Casablanca | Stade Mohammed V | 45,000 | |
| Fez | Fez Stadium | 45,000 | |
| Marrakesh | Marrakesh Stadium | 45,240 | |
| Rabat | Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium | 69,500 | |
| Rabat | Moulay Hassan Stadium | 22,000 | |
| Rabat | Rabat Olympic Stadium | 21,000 | |
| Rabat | Al Medina Stadium | 18,000 | |
| Tangier | Tangier Grand Stadium | 75,500 |
Squads
Match officials
Referees
On 26 November 2025, CAF released the complete list of match officials appointed for the tournament. The list included 73 officials in total: 28 referees, 31 assistant referees, and 14 VAR officials. All selected officials came exclusively from the African Confederation. Assistant referees officiated in multiple refereeing teams.| Country | Referee | Assistant referees | Matches assigned |
| Mustapha Ghorbal | Mahmoud Ahmed Abouelregal | Ivory Coast–Cameroon | |
| Mustapha Ghorbal | Adel Abane | Egypt–Ivory Coast | |
| Youcef Gamouh | Adel Abane | Senegal–DR Congo | |
| Aymar Ulrich Eric Ayimavo | Uganda–Nigeria | ||
| Pacifique Ndabihawenimana | Nouha Bangoura | Egypt–South Africa | |
| Pacifique Ndabihawenimana | Modibo Samake | Equatorial Guinea–Algeria | |
| Abdou Abdel Mefire | Danek Styven Moutsassi Yanes Malondi Chani | Morocco–Mali | |
| Abdou Abdel Mefire | Elvis Guy Noupue Nguegoue | Nigeria–Mozambique | |
| Elvis Guy Noupue Nguegoue Amos Abeigne Ndong | Comoros–Mali | ||
| Messie Jessie Oved Nkounkou Mvoutou | Guylain Nguila Gradel Mbilizi Mwanya | Equatorial Guinea–Sudan | |
| Jean-Jacques Ndala Ngambo | Guylain Nguila Gradel Mbilizi Mwanya | Morocco–Comoros Tanzania–Tunisia Senegal–Morocco | |
| Mohamed Mansour Maarouf | | Burkina Faso–Equatorial Guinea | |
| Mohamed Mansour Maarouf | Mahmoud Ahmed Abouelregal | Algeria–DR Congo | |
| Amin Mohamed Omar | Mahmoud Ahmed Abouelregal | Sudan–Burkina Faso | |
| Amin Mohamed Omar | Mahmoud Ahmed Abouelregal Adel Abane | Cameroon–Gabon | |
| Elvis Guy Noupue Nguegoue | Algeria–Sudan | ||
Danek Styven Moutsassi | Senegal–Egypt | ||
Amos Abeigne Ndong | Egypt–Benin | ||
Amos Abeigne Ndong | Tunisia–Uganda | ||
| Daniel Nii Ayi Laryea | Zakhele Siwela Souru Phatsoane | Algeria–Burkina Faso Nigeria–Morocco | |
| Clement Franklin Kpan | | Angola–Egypt | |
| Peter Waweru Kamaku | Gilbert Kipkoech Cheruiyot Stephen Elezar Onyango Yiembe | Angola–Zimbabwe South Africa–Cameroon | |
| Modibo Samake | Nigeria–Tunisia Morocco–Tanzania | ||
| Modibo Samake | Senegal–Botswana | ||
| Dahane Beida | Ivanildo Meirelles De Sanches Lopes | Nigeria–Tanzania Senegal–Sudan Cameroon–Morocco | |
| Abelmiro dos Reis Monte Negro | Zambia–Comoros | ||
| Ivanildo Meirelles De Sanches Lopes | Botswana–DR Congo | ||
| Uganda–Tanzania Mozambique–Cameroon Egypt–Nigeria | |||
| Mustapha Kechchaf | Danek Styven Moutsassi Yanes Malondi Chani | Zimbabwe–South Africa | |
| Aymar Ulrich Eric Ayimavo | Ivory Coast–Mozambique | ||
| Gilbert Kipkoech Cheruiyot Stephen Elezar Onyango Yiembe | Benin–Senegal | ||
| Issa Sy | Nouha Bangoura | Egypt–Zimbabwe Zambia–Morocco Algeria–Nigeria | |
| Omar Abdulkadir Artan | Abelmiro dos Reis Monte Negro | Mali–Zambia Gabon–Ivory Coast | |
| Abongile Tom | Zakhele Siwela Souru Phatsoane | DR Congo–Benin Mali–Tunisia Mali–Senegal | |
| Mahmood Ismail | Stephen Elezar Onyango Yiembe | South Africa–Angola | |
| Mahmood Ismail | | Ivory Coast–Burkina Faso | |
| Mehrez Melki | Gabon–Mozambique | ||
| Shamirah Nabadda | | Benin–Botswana |