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The Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) will take place between 21 December 2025 and 18 January 2026 in Morocco.<\/b><\/p>\n
The 2025 edition was originally due to be a mid-year tournament, to reduce scheduling conflicts with European clubs and competitions.<\/p>\n
The summer event was supposed to boost tourism and highlight what Morocco has to offer, before the country co-hosts the 2030 World Cup with Spain and Portugal.<\/p>\n
But it was shifted to December to make way for Fifa’s expanded Club World Cup, held in the summer.<\/p>\n
The move to a start in December rather than January will avoid conflicts with the Champions League and Europa League, which restart on 20 and 22 January respectively.<\/p>\n
It will be the first time Afcon has been held at this time of year, with matches played in Rabat, Casablanca, Marrakech, Agadir, Tangier and Fez.<\/p>\n
There will not be matches on 25 December.<\/p>\n
Players participating in Afcon were released from clubs on 15 December.<\/p>\n
This means teams have only had a week to prepare before the tournament begins, sparking anger from coaches who have been left with a short window in which to prepare their teams.<\/p>\n
Angola’s coach Patrice Beaumelle said the situation was “nonsense” and that “you can’t prepare a serious team in just two or three sessions”.<\/p>\n
The last time Afcon was held in summer was the 2019 edition, hosted by Egypt.<\/p>\n
In recent years, the tournament has been played between January and February.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n