The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations is almost upon us.
It will be the 35th edition of the tournament, first held in 1957, occurring every two years. It’s a schedule that the competition maintains to this day, though there have been a few alterations to in switching to even years and finally back to odd.
The tournament was also set to be held in the summer, with Afcon looking to move to that schedule to keep in line with European seasons. But Afcon 2025 had to be moved due to the Club World Cup.
There will be 24 teams taking part at Afcon in 2025, with this being the fourth tournament since that increase.
Ivory Coast are the defending champions, having beat Nigeria in the 2023 final, claiming the trophy for the third time. Egypt remain the most-successful nation in Afcon history, with seven triumphs.
When is Afcon 2025?
The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations gets underway on 21st December and will run until 18th January 2026.
Where is Afcon 2025 taking place?
Morocco is hosting the tournament for the second time, after 1988. Then, the hosts finshed fourth, with Cameroon winning the tournament. The 52 games will be played in nine stadiums across six cities. Prince Moullay Abdellah Stadium will host both the opening game and the final.
The tournament will be played across the following cities and stadiums (capacity):
- Adrar Stadium, Agadir (45,000)
- Stade Mohammed V, Casablanca (45,000)
- Fez Stadium, Fez (45,000)
- Marrakesh Stadium, Marrakesh (45,000)
- Prince Moulay Abdella Stadium, Rabat (68,700)
- Moulay Hassan Stadium, Rabat (22,000)
- Rabat Olympic Stadium, Rabat (21,000)
- Al Medina Stadium, Rabat (18,000)
- Tangier Grand Stadium, Tangier (75,600)
How to watch Afcon 2025 in the UK?
All 52 matches of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations are free to watch live on TV in the UK. Channel 4 have acquired the rights for the tournament and will show every match, across their three TV channels — Channel 4, E4 and 4Seven — as well as online on Channel 4 Streaming and Channel 4 Sport YouTube.