AFCON 2025 rescheduled to July & August by FIFA: Report

Ivory Coast won AFCON 2023

There is good news for the top European leagues. AFCON 2025 will be held in mid-July and continue until mid-August after FIFA & CAF reach an agreement, according to Hanif Berkane.

The draw for the preliminary qualifying round of the Africa Cup of Nations 2025 will take place on February 20 in the capital city of Egypt, Cairo, the Confederation of African Football confirmed.

According to CAF,  the preliminary round will feature the eight lowest-ranked teams in the FIFA rankings, namely Somalia, Djibouti, Sao Tome, Chad, Mauritius, South Sudan, Liberia, and Eswatini.

These teams will play in the preliminary round, while the rest of the teams that are exempted will play directly in the group stage.

The matches will be played on a two-legged basis during the FIFA window from March 18 to 26, emphasized CAF, noting that the four winners of the preliminary round will join the remaining 44 teams.

In addition to setting many on-field records, it turned out to be a financial success, as confirmed by record global viewership, according to the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

AFCON 2023 was recently concluded, with the host nation Ivory Coast clinching their third title against the Nigerian Super Eagles.

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President of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation Fouzi Lekjaa accepted the host nation’s flag for the 35th edition, which will be held in Morocco in 2025, at the winners’ ceremony.

Lekjaa was seen having a conversation with FIFA President Infantino and CAF President Patrice Motsepe on the sidelines. According to reports, it was during this discussion that Infantino proposed two possible options for the next AFCON: hosting it in March 2025 or postponing it to January 2026.

It is further reported that Infantino is keen on a prompt decision to allow adjustments to football schedules if necessary and to discuss the way forward with other international stakeholders.

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