The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations was the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, a biennial football tournament contested by the men's national teams of the Confederation of African Football (CAF). It was hosted by Morocco — the second time the country had hosted the tournament, after 1988 — following the stripping of hosting rights from Guinea due to inadequate preparations.
Due to a scheduling conflict with the expanded 2025 FIFA Club World Cup in June and July, the Africa Cup of Nations was played between 21 December 2025 and 18 January 2026 — the first time it was held over the Christmas and New Year period.
Defending champions Ivory Coast were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Egypt. The final between Senegal and hosts Morocco was marred by controversy after Senegal walked off the pitch for 17 minutes in protest over a disallowed goal and a VAR decision in stoppage time. Senegal returned to the pitch and won 1–0 after extra time, but on 17 March 2026 the CAF Appeal Board ruled that Senegal had forfeited the final through their actions, awarding Morocco a 3–0 victory. Senegal have indicated that they will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. It was Morocco's second Africa Cup of Nations title, after their first in 1976.
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 SponsorOfficial Global PartnersOfficial Competition SponsorsOfficial Suppliers TotalEnergies 1xBet European Union Orange Group Puma Royal Air Maroc Suzuki Tecno Mobile Visa Inc. Netflix Apsonic Danone Konami (eFootball) LONACI Midea Group Morocco Now OCP Group ONCF Unilever (Rexona) Visit Morocco Acıbadem Healthcare Group Africa Global Logistics Bel Group (The Laughing Cow) Sidi Ali
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. Produced by Puma using Orbital 6 technology, the design combined star-based forms, floral motifs and circular patterns. A special edition was made for the final where the official match ball was recoloured in gold.
Official song The official song was "Africallez" (a wordplay in ), which stood as one of the tournament's emblems. The song was performed by three artists: Beninese musician Angélique Kidjo, and Moroccan singers Lartiste and Jaylann.
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 (20–26 March 2024) and then the group stage (2 September–19 November 2024). The preliminary round draw was held on 20 February 2024, 14:00 CAT (UTC+2) 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 (Chad, Eswatini, Liberia, and South Sudan) 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 (UTC+2) 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.
TeamQualification methodDate of qualificationAppearance(s)Previous best performance 20th 1972 2023 5 (1976) 11 14th 1978 2023 3 (2013) 62 22nd 1970 2023 6 (1984, 1988, 2000, 2002, 2017) 57 21st 1968 2023 7 (1990, 2019) 34 21st 1965 2023 2 (1968, 1974) 56 18th 1965 2023 6 (2021) 19 27th 1957 2023 5 (1957, 1959, 1986, 1998, 2006, 2008, 2010) 35 10th 1996 2023 2 (2008, 2010, 2023) 89 5th 2012 2023 3 (2015) 97 26th 1965 2023 11 (1992, 2015, 2023) 42 9th 1994 2021 1 (1996, 2012) 78 8th 1962 2019 1 (1978) 85 12th 1996 2023 2 (1996) 61 22nd 1962 2023 17 (2004) 41 21st 1963 2023 4 (1980, 1994, 2013) 38 14th 1972 2023 10 (1972) 53 19th 1974 2023 2 (2012) 91 6th 2004 2021 1 (2004, 2006, 2017, 2019, 2021) 129 2nd 2021 2021 1 (2021) 109 10th 1957 2021 1 (1970) 117 5th 2004 2019 1 (2019) 92 4th 1980 2023 2 (1980, 2019, 2023) 112 2nd 2012 2012 1 (2012) 138 6th 1986 2023 2 (1986, 1996, 1998, 2010, 2023) 102
Venues
On 27 January 2025, the Confederation of African Football (CAF), 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. +List of host cities and stadiums City Stadium CapacityImageAgadirAdrar Stadium46,000 CasablancaStade Mohammed V45,000 FezFez Stadium45,000 MarrakeshMarrakesh Stadium45,240 RabatPrince Moulay Abdellah Stadium69,500 Moulay El Hassan Stadium22,000 Rabat Olympic Stadium21,000 Al Medina Stadium18,000 TangierTangier Grand Stadium75,500
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.
+ Refereeing teamsCountryRefereeAssistant refereesMatches assignedMustapha Ghorbal Mahmoud Ahmed Abouelregal Ivory Coast–Cameroon (Group F)Adel AbaneEgypt–Ivory Coast (Quarter-final)Youcef GamouhSenegal–DR Congo (Group D)Aymar Ulrich Eric Ayimavo Uganda–Nigeria (Group C)Pacifique Ndabihawenimana Nouha BangouraEgypt–South Africa (Group B) Modibo Samake Diana ChikoteshaEquatorial Guinea–Algeria (Group E)Abdou Abdel Mefire Danek Styven Moutsassi Yanes Malondi ChaniMorocco–Mali (Group A)Elvis Guy Noupue NguegoueNigeria–Mozambique (Round of 16) Elvis Guy Noupue Nguegoue Amos Abeigne NdongComoros–Mali (Group A)Messie Jessie Oved Nkounkou Mvoutou Guylain Nguila Gradel Mbilizi MwanyaEquatorial Guinea–Sudan (Group E)Jean-Jacques NdalaGuylain NguilaGradel Mbilizi MwanyaMorocco–Comoros (Group A)Tanzania–Tunisia (Group C)Senegal–Morocco (Final)Mohamed Mansour Maarouf Burkina Faso–Equatorial Guinea (Group E)Mahmoud Ahmed AbouelregalAlgeria–DR Congo (Round of 16)Amin Mohamed OmarSudan–Burkina Faso (Group E)Mahmoud Ahmed Abouelregal Adel AbaneCameroon–Gabon (Group F)Pierre Atcho Elvis Guy Noupue Nguegoue Algeria–Sudan (Group E) Danek Styven MoutsassiSenegal–Egypt (Semi-final)Amos Abeigne NdongEgypt–Benin (Round of 16)Tunisia–Uganda (Group C)Daniel Nii Ayi Laryea Zakhele Siwela Souru PhatsoaneAlgeria–Burkina Faso (Group E)Nigeria–Morocco (Semi-final)Clement Franklin Kpan Angola–Egypt (Group B)Peter Waweru KamakuGilbert Kipkoech CheruiyotStephen Elezar Onyango YiembeAngola–Zimbabwe (Group B)South Africa–Cameroon (Round of 16)Modibo Samake Nigeria–Tunisia (Group C)Morocco–Tanzania (Round of 16) Modibo Samake Senegal–Botswana (Group D)Dahane Beida Ivanildo Meirelles De Sanches LopesNigeria–Tanzania (Group C)Senegal–Sudan (Round of 16)Cameroon–Morocco (Quarter-final) Abelmiro dos Reis Monte NegroZambia–Comoros (Group A) Ivanildo Meirelles De Sanches LopesBotswana–DR Congo (Group D)Jalal JayedUganda–Tanzania (Group C)Mozambique–Cameroon (Group F)Egypt–Nigeria (Third place play-off)Mustapha Kechchaf Danek Styven Moutsassi Yanes Malondi ChaniZimbabwe–South Africa (Group B) Aymar Ulrich Eric Ayimavo Ivory Coast–Mozambique (Group F) Gilbert Kipkoech Cheruiyot Stephen Elezar Onyango YiembeBenin–Senegal (Group D)Issa SyNouha BangouraEgypt–Zimbabwe (Group B)Zambia–Morocco (Group A)Algeria–Nigeria (Quarter-final)Omar Artan Abelmiro dos Reis Monte NegroMali–Zambia (Group A)Gabon–Ivory Coast (Group F)Abongile TomZakhele Siwela Souru PhatsoaneDR Congo–Benin (Group D)Mali–Tunisia (Round of 16)Mali–Senegal (Quarter-final)Mahmood IsmailStephen Elezar Onyango YiembeSouth Africa–Angola (Group B) Ivory Coast–Burkina Faso (Round of 16)Mehrez Melki Gabon–Mozambique (Group F)Shamirah Nabadda Diana Chikotesha Benin–Botswana (Group D)
Draw The draw took place on 27 January 2025 at the Mohammed V National Theatre in Rabat. The draw was conducted by Mustapha Hadji (Morocco), Serge Aurier (Ivory Coast), Aliou Cissé (Senegal) and Joseph Yobo (Nigeria). Pot 1Pot 2Pot 3Pot 4 (hosts) (holders)
Group stage
The CAF announced the tournament schedule on 31 January 2025.
The top two teams of each group, along with the best four third-placed teams, advanced to the round of 16.
Tiebreakers Teams were ranked according to the three points for a win system (3 points for a win, 1 for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria were applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings (Regulations Article 74): Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams; Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams; Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams; If more than two teams were tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, if two teams were still tied, all head-to-head criteria above were applied exclusively to these two teams; Goal difference in all group matches; Goals scored in all group matches; Drawing of lots.
Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
Group E
Group F
Ranking of third-placed teams
Knockout stage
Bracket
Round of 16
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Third place play-off
Final
Statistics Goalscorers
Discipline A player was automatically suspended for the next match for the following offences: Receiving a red card (red card suspensions could be extended for serious offences) Receiving two yellow cards in two matches