AFCON-2025 in Morocco Will Be ‘Huge Success’ – CAF President

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) highlighted Tuesday Morocco’s proven track record in hosting major international football events, as it is set to stage the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON 2025).

“Morocco’s selection as the host for AFCON 2025 is no surprise,” CAF wrote in a statement published on its official website. From the 2018 African Nations Championship (CHAN) to the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and the FIFA Club World Cup in 2023, Morocco has “consistently demonstrated its capacity to organize and deliver world-class football tournaments.”

With world-class infrastructure, passionate fans, and recognized experience in hosting major sporting events, Morocco is ready to organize an AFCON that will redefine the standards of this competition, according to the statement, which noted that Morocco’s designation as the host nation on September 27, 2023, has been met with widespread “enthusiasm”.

This track record, combined with the country’s passionate football culture and state-of-the-art infrastructure, sets the stage for what could be one of the most memorable editions of the Africa Cup of Nations, according to the same source. 

Morocco first hosted the Africa Cup of Nations in 1988, with only eight teams participating. For the 2025 edition, the tournament will undergo significant expansion, increasing to 24 teams, reflecting the impressive development of African football over the past three decades.

CAF reviewed Morocco’s “iconic” stadiums, such as the Mohammed V Stadium in Casablanca, Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, the large stadiums in Tangier, Agadir, and Marrakech, as well as the sports complex in Fez.

The opening match will kick off on December 21, 2025, with the final scheduled for January 18, 2026.

The Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025 Final Draw will be held in Rabat, Morocco, on January 27, 2025.

Morocco will play in Group A alongside Kenya, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia at the African Nations Championship for local players (CHAN-2024), following the draw held on Wednesday in Nairobi.

The Atlas Lions, winners of the 2018 and 2020 editions held in Morocco, will contest the group phase in Nairobi city.

Defending champions Senegal have been drawn in Group D alongside Congo, Sudan and Nigeria.

Following the withdrawal of some teams from the qualifying round, two places remain available. Additional qualifying rounds will be held to determine which teams will hold these positions.

Initially scheduled to take place from February 1 to 28 in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, the CHAN has been postponed to August 2025, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced, noting that CAF’s technical and infrastructure experts, some of whom are based in the three host countries, required additional time to ensure that infrastructure and facilities were up to the necessary standard to host the competition successfully. 

The exact start date of the CHAN will be announced by CAF “in due course”, CAF said in a statement issued on Tuesday.

Groups:

Group A: Kenya, Morocco, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia

Group B: Tanzania, Madagascar, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic

Group C: Uganda, Niger, Guinea, Q2, Q1

Group D: Senegal, Congo, Sudan, Nigeria

Note: Q1 and Q2 represent the teams that will qualify in the additional tournaments preceding the competition.

The Moroccan national football team dominated their Gabonese counterparts by 5 goals to 1 on Friday at the Franceville stadium, for the fifth Group B fixture of the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN-2025) qualifiers.

Gabon’s striker, Dénis Bouanga, fired first in the 5th minute before the Atlas Lions retaliated with a downpour of goals scored by Jamal Harkass (17′), Brahim Diaz (21′, 23′), Youssef En-Nesyri (81′) and Ismael Saibari (90′).

In the same group, Lesotho beat the Central African Republic on Thursday (1-0).

Following today’s fixtures, Morocco consolidated their position at the top of Group B with 15 points from five wins, ahead of Gabon, who qualified for the CAN (7 points). Lesotho are third with 4 points, while the Central African Republic are dead last with 3 points.

Morocco’s national soccer team thrashed Lesotho 7-0 (5-0 in 1st half-time ) on Monday evening at the Stade d’Honneur in Oujda, as part of the 6th and final matchday of Group B qualifiers for the Africa Cup of Nations (Morocco-2025).

The Atlas Lions won thanks to a hat-trick from Brahim Diaz (5′, 15′, 42′), two goals by Sofiane Rahimi (37′, 45’+2 penalty) as well as Youssef En-Nesyri (68′) and Ismael Saibari (70′).

With this win, the national team finishes top of its group with 18 points from 6 wins, ahead of Gabon (10 pts), who already qualified for the next AFCON and defeated this evening the Central African Republic (1-0).

Morocco’s football head coach, Walid Regragui, selected 26 players for the two upcoming matches against Gabon in Franceville on November 15 and Lesotho at Oujda’s Honor Stadium on November 18, the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) said on Thursday.

These two matches are part of the 5th and 6th Group B qualifiers fixtures for the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN), to be held in Morocco from December 21, 2025 to January 18, 2026.

According to the same source, the national head coach will hold a press conference next Tuesday at the Mohammed VI Football Complex in Salé at 6:00 pm (local time), followed by a training session open to the press for the first 15 minutes.

Here follows the list of players called up:

Goalkeepers: Yassine Bounou (Al Hilal/Saudi Arabia), Mounir El Kajoui (Renaissance Berkane), Salaheddine Chihab (Maghreb Fès), Ayoub El Khayati (AS FAR)

Defenders: Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain/France), Noussair Mazraoui (Manchester United/England), Abdelkabir Abkar (Alaves/Spain), Jamal Harkas (Wydad Casablanca), Nayef Aguerd (Real Sociedad/Spain), Adam Massina (Torino/Italy), Adam Aznou (Bayern Munich/Germany), Yahya Attiyat-Allah (Al Ahly/Egypt)

Midfielders: Sofiane Amrabat (Fenerbahçe/Turkey), Amir Richardson (Fiorentina/Italy), Eliesse Ben Seghir (Monaco/France), Oussama Targhaline (Le Havre/France), Azzeddine Ounahi (Panathinaïkos/Greece), Bilal El Khanous (Leicester City/England), Ismael Saibari (PSV Eindhoven/Netherlands).

Forwards: Ilyas Akhomach (Villarreal/Spain), Brahim Diaz (Real Madrid/Spain), Soufiane Rahimi (Al Aïn/United Arab Emirates), Ayoub El Kaabi (Olympiakos/Greece), Youssef En-Nesyri (Fenerbahçe/Turkey), Osame Sahraoui (Lille/France), Abdessamad Ezzalzouli (Betis/Spain).

The Moroccan national football team comfortably beat their Central African counterpart in a 5 to null thrashing on Saturday at Oujda’s Honor Stadium, in the 3rd day of Group B of the African qualifiers for the African Cup of Nations (AFCON).

Abdessamad Ezzalzouli (18’), Azzeddine Ounahi (38’, 45 ‘+2), Achraf Hakimi (45’) and Soufiane Rahimi (pen. 71’) signed their names on the scoresheet in this demolition job.

The Atlas Lions, who have already qualified for the 2025 AFCON finals as hosts, consolidated their position at the top of Group B with 9 points after wins over Gabon (4-1) and Lesotho (1-0) on the first two matchdays.