2025 Africa Cup of Nations

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.

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.

The tournament mascot, named Assad (Arabic: أسد) 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.

On 10 November 2025, CAF and Puma unveiled "Itri" (Standard Moroccan Amazigh: ⵉⵜⵔⵉ, lit. 'star') 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 and reflects the shared spirit and enthusiasm of football across Africa. Produced by Puma using Orbital 6 technology, the design combined star-based forms, floral motifs and circular patterns, conveying joy and the coming together of the 24 nations taking part in the tournament.

The official song was "Africallez" (a wordplay in French: Africa allez!, lit. 'Let's go Africa!'), which stood as one of the tournament's emblems, fusing sporting fervor, cultural identity, and a message of continental unity. Conceived as a true Pan-African anthem, "Africallez" was performed by three artists: Beninese diva Angélique Kidjo, a global icon of African music; Moroccan singer Lartiste, a key figure in the urban and international music scenes; and Moroccan artist Jaylane, who symbolized the country's new artistic generation.

The winners received US$10 million, an increase from US$7 million for the 2023 event.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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):

1. Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
2. Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
3. Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
4. 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;
5. Goal difference in all group matches;
6. Goals scored in all group matches;
7. Drawing of lots.

There were 120 goals scored in 52 matches, for an average of 2.31 goals per match.

5 goals

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

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
• After the end of the group matches, all cautions received were cancelled for the rest of the competition. Nevertheless, a player having collected two yellow cards sustained the one match suspension.

The following suspensions occurred during the tournament:

The following Africa Cup of Nations awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament: the Player of the Tournament (best overall player), the Puma Golden Boot (top goalscorer), the Golden Glove (best goalkeeper) and the Fair Play Award.

Source:

The Man of the Match award was presented after each game during the tournament. The award, presented by TotalEnergies, included an official trophy handed to the player at the end of the match.

Matches that ended in extra time were counted as wins and defeats, while matches that ended in a penalty shoot-out were counted as draws. The national team shown in italics were the hosts of the tournament.

During the final of the tournament, contested between Senegal and Morocco, the score remained level at 0–0 for most of regulation time. In the fifth minute of stoppage time, referee Jean-Jacques Ndala whistled a foul during a buildup that led to Senegal scoring what seemed initially as a valid goal by Ismaïla Sarr. Abdoulaye Seck had come into contact with Achraf Hakimi after which the latter fell to the ground. VAR could not be consulted since the "goal" was scored after the referee's whistle.

A few minutes later, in the eighth minute of stoppage time, Brahim Díaz was held by Senegalese defender El Hadji Malick Diouf, an action that was sanctioned as a penalty kick after VAR review. Disagreeing with the referee’s decisions, Senegal head coach Pape Thiaw instructed his players to leave the pitch in protest. The match was suspended for approximately 15 minutes, after which the Senegalese players returned to the field. It was during the VAR review and while play was suspended that unrest broke out among fans in the stands behind the goal of Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou. Several Senegalese hooligans attempted to storm the pitch while throwing chairs and other objects. Clashes erupted with stewards and security personnel, many being hit and kicked by the hooligans. Later, police in protective gear gathered in front of the affected stands and carried out charges. Police and stewards eventually formed a barrier separating those supporters from the rest of the crowd until after the match was over.

The match eventually resumed while tensions remained evident on the other side of the field of play. Brahim Díaz took the penalty, but his attempt was saved by Senegal goalkeeper Édouard Mendy, and regulation time ended with the score still tied at 0–0.

At least one steward was seriously injured and had to be taken off on a stretcher, prompting concern and circulating social‑media claims that the steward might have died. However, Moroccan authorities, including the General Directorate for National Security, denied that any steward or stadium worker had died as a result of the clashes, stating that no such fatality was recorded and that reports of a death were false. In total, 18 Senegalese fans and one Algerian fan were arrested in connection with the disturbances. The defendants will stand trial at the Rabat First Criminal Court, facing multiple charges, including participating in violent acts during a sporting event, forcibly entering the pitch, damaging sporting facilities, assaulting law enforcement officers and public forces, throwing objects, causing harm and throwing liquids, causing damage.

The day after the final, the Royal Moroccan Football Federation announced that it would file a complaint against Senegal with FIFA and CAF, alleging that the events prior to the penalty kick "affected the normal development of the match and the performance of the players". On the same day, CAF released a public statement condemning "the unacceptable behaviour of some players and officials" during the final. Gianni Infantino reacted on these events condemning "the behaviour of some "supporters" as well as some Senegalese players and technical staff members". All available footage is being reviewed and will lead to appropriate action.

On 17 March 2026, the CAF Appeal Board overturned the result of the final, in which Senegal had originally won on the field, and awarded a 3–0 victory to Morocco.

The ruling cited Article 84 of the Africa Cup of Nations regulations, which provides for a forfeit if a team leaves the field of play without the referee’s permission. As a result, Morocco were officially recognized as champions of the tournament.

The decision drew criticism in Senegal and received significant media attention internationally. Several outlets highlighted the unusual nature of overturning the result of a completed final and questioned the interpretation of the regulations. The Senegalese Football Federation indicated that it intended to appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Below is the list of the 2025 AFCON broadcasting rights holders:

• 2024 African Nations Championship

• 2024 Women's Africa Cup of Nations

• 2025 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations

• 2025 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations

• Official website