The upcoming African Cup of Nations finals have been delayed by six months and will now be played from December 21, 2025 to January 18, 2026, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced on Friday.
The 2025 tournament in Morocco was supposed to take place mid-year, but was changed due to the new expanded 32-team FIFA Club World Cup in the United States next June and July.
CAF has also delayed this year's Women's Nations Cup final by 12 months, from July 5 to July 26 next year. They are also staying in Morocco.
The dates of the two tournaments have been anticipated with great interest, with CAF previously acknowledging that it is struggling with a crowded international calendar.
“The announcement of the Morocco AFCON 2025 dates has taken much longer than anticipated as there have been complex and sometimes challenging discussions with the various stakeholders, taking into account the extensive calendar of domestic and international matches,” he said. the president of CAF, Patrice Motsepe. .
“CAF is committed to protecting and promoting the interests of African players, [who are] playing in football clubs in Europe and around the world. CAF is also committed to building mutually beneficial relationships with the other football confederations and FIFA,” he added.
Competing in the Nations Cup in the middle of the European league season causes a dilemma for African players based in Europe, who have to decide between club or country.
To alleviate this situation, CAF previously decided that the finals would be moved to mid-year, every odd year, starting in 2019. But since the mid-year tournament in Egypt in 2019, African football's governing body backed down of his decision and organized the last two finals in Cameroon and Ivory Coast at the beginning of the year.
Moving the 2025 final to December, rather than January, is to avoid a clash with the expanded Champions League in Europe.
The 2025 finals were meant to be a showcase for Morocco to bolster its summer tourism profile and also try to prove its capabilities ahead of co-hosting the 2030 World Cup with Portugal and Spain, but is now scheduled for the winter months. .
The 2025 Nations Cup qualifiers will be played over the next three international windows in September, October and November this year in a fast-paced campaign, after which the 24 finalists will wait more than a year before the final begins.
