CAF Reschedules AFCON 2025

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has officially rescheduled the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025 to take place in Morocco from December 21, 2025, to January 18, 2026.

This decision comes on the heels of the announcement of the Club World Cup for the summer of 2025.

The CAF Executive Committee (EXCO) also announced the dates for the CAF TotalEnergies Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), which will also be hosted in Morocco.

The CAN 2025 was initially slated for July-August 2025 to avoid clashes with the first 32-team Club World Cup, scheduled for June 15 to July 13, 2025, in the United States.

However, the summer schedule proved to be overly congested, prompting concerns from various soccer associations about the overwhelming workload.

Despite CAF’s initial denial of any postponement rumors, General Secretary Veron Mosengo-Omba hinted at a possible delay in an interview monitored by Diaspora Digital Media, stating that discussions with relevant parties were at an advanced stage, and a decision would be made public “soon.”

The postponement is now confirmed, making CAN 2025 the third consecutive edition of the tournament to be postponed, following CAN 2021 in Cameroon and CAN 2023 in Côte d’Ivoire.

The 35th edition of the CAN will make history with its unique scheduling, spanning across two years, from December 21, 2025, to January 18, 2026.

This unprecedented decision deviates from the traditional CAN schedule, which typically begins in early January and concludes in early February.

The purpose behind this change is to prevent any clashes with the newly implemented UEFA Champions League format, which will take effect in 2024.

With the new format, the C1 group stage’s sixth matchday will conclude in mid-December, while the seventh matchday will commence around January 21.

By adopting this arrangement, players who participate in European leagues and compete in the UEFA Champions League will have the opportunity to represent their national teams without any scheduling conflicts.

This development highlights CAF’s consistent trend of altering its original schedules since AFCON 2012, showcasing a pattern of contradiction.

The decision is expected to have significant implications for the soccer community, and fans are eagerly awaiting the tournament’s commencement in December 2025.

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