- The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly known as AFCON, will be held in Morocco this year and kicks off in the capital, Rabat, on Sunday.
- Host nation Morocco take on Comoros in the opening match of the four week tournament.
- The final will be held on January 18 at the 69,500-capacity Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat.
- Nine venues across six cities have been selected for the continental showpiece event.
- The 24 participating teams have been drawn into six groups, with 68 matches in total.
- The group stage will run until December 31, with the knockout stage starting on January 3.
Here are the details on the teams, groups, format, match fixtures, kickoff times and venues for AFCON 2025:
Teams and groups
âš½ Group A: Morocco, Mali, Zambia, Comoros
âš½ Group B: Egypt, South Africa, Angola, Zimbabwe
âš½ Group C: Nigeria, Tunisia, Uganda, Tanzania
âš½ Group D: Senegal, DR Congo, Benin, Botswana
âš½ Group E: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea, Sudan
âš½ Group F: Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Gabon, Mozambique
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Format
The top two teams of each group, along with the best four third-placed teams, will advance to the knockout stage, beginning with the round of 16. That is followed by the quarterfinals, semifinals and the final. There is also a third-place playoff between the two losing semifinalists.
In the knockout stages, if a match is level at the end of normal playing time, teams will play 30 minutes of extra time and, if required, a penalty shootout.
Egypt are the most successful team in Africa with a record seven AFCON titles, though they last won the trophy in 2010 [File: Amr Nabil/AP]
Match schedule
âš½ Group Stage
December 21
Group A: Morocco vs Comoros (Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, 8pm/19:00 GMT)
December 22
Group A: Mali vs Zambia (Stade Mohammed V, 3:30pm/14:30 GMT)
Group B: Egypt vs Zimbabwe (Adrar Stadium, 6pm/17:00 GMT)
Group B: South Africa vs Angola (Marrakesh Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)
December 23
Group C: Nigeria vs Tanzania (Fez Stadium, 1pm/12:00 GMT)
Group C: Tunisia vs Uganda (Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, 3:30pm/14:30 GMT)
Group D: Senegal vs Botswana (Ibn Batouta Stadium, 6pm/17:00 GMT)
Group D: DR Congo vs Benin (Al Barid Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)
December 24
Group E: Algeria vs Sudan (Moulay Hassan Stadium, 1pm/12:00 GMT)
Group E: Burkina Faso vs Equatorial Guinea (Stade Mohammed V, 3:30pm/14:30 GMT)
Group F: Ivory Coast vs Mozambique (Marrakesh Stadium, 6pm/17:00 GMT)
Group F: Cameroon vs Gabon(Adrar Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)
Rest day on Christmas
December 26
Group A: Morocco vs Mali (Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, 1pm/12:00 GMT)
Group A: Zambia vs Comoros (Stade Mohammed V, 3:30pm/14:30 GMT)
Group B: Egypt vs South Africa (Adrar Stadium, 6pm/17:00 GMT)
Group B: Angola vs Zimbabwe (Marrakesh Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)
December 27
Group C: Nigeria vs Tunisia (Fez Stadium, 1pm/12:00 GMT)
Group C: Uganda vs Tanzania (Al Barid Stadium, 3:30pm/14:30 GMT)
Group D: Senegal vs DR Congo (Ibn Batouta Stadium, 6pm/17:00 GMT)
Group D: Benin vs Botswana (Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)
December 28
Group E: Algeria vs Burkina Faso (Moulay Hassan Stadium, 1pm/12:00 GMT)
Group E: Equatorial Guinea vs Sudan (Stade Mohammed V, 3:30pm/14:30 GMT)
Group F: Ivory Coast vs Cameroon (Marrakesh Stadium, 6pm/17:00 GMT)
Group F: Gabon vs Mozambique (Adrar Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)
December 29
Group A: Comoros vs Mali (Stade Mohammed V, 6:30pm/17:30 GMT)
Group A: Zambia vs Morocco (Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, 6:30pm/17:30 GMT)
Group B: Angola vs Egypt (Adrar Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)
Group B: Zimbabwe vs South Africa (Marrakesh Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)
December 30
Group C: Tanzania vs Tunisia (Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, 6pm/17:00 GMT)
Group C: Uganda vs Nigeria (Fez Stadium, 6pm/17:00 GMT)
Group D: Benin vs Senegal (Ibn Batouta Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)
Group D: Botswana vs DR Congo (Al Barid Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)
December 31
Group E: Equatorial Guinea vs Algeria (Moulay Hassan Stadium, 6pm/17:00 GMT)
Group E: Sudan vs Burkina Faso (Stade Mohammed V, 6pm/17:00 GMT)
Group F: Gabon vs Ivory Coast (Marrakesh Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)
Group F: Mozambique vs Cameroon (Adrar Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)
Rest days on January 1 and 2Â
External view of the 69,500-capacity Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, which will be used for the AFCON final on January 18 [Emre Asikci/Anadolu via Getty Images]
âš½ Round of 16
January 3
Winner Group D vs 3rd Group B/E/F (Ibn Batouta Stadium, 6pm/17:00 GMT)
Runner-up Group A vs Runner-up Group C (Stade Mohammed V, 8:30pm local/19:30 GMT)
January 4
Winner Group A vs 3rd Group C/D/E (Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, 6pm/17:00 GMT)
Runner-up Group B vs Runner-up Group F (Al Barid Stadium, 8:30pm local/19:30 GMT)
January 5
Winner Group B vs 3rd Group A/C/D (Adrar Stadium, 6pm/17:00 GMT)
Winner Group C vs 3rd Group A/B/F (Fez Stadium, 8:30pm local/19:30 GMT)
January 6
Winner Group E vs Runner-up Group D (Moulay Hassan Stadium, 6pm/17:00 GMT)
Winner Group F vs Runner-up Group E (Marrakesh Stadium, 8:30pm local/19:30 GMT)
Rest days on January 7 and 8
âš½ Quarterfinals
January 9
Quarterfinal 1 (Ibn Batouta Stadium, 6pm/17:00 GMT)
Quarterfinal 2 (Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)
January 10
Quarterfinal 3 (Marrakesh Stadium, 6pm/17:00 GMT)
Quarterfinal 4 (Adrar Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)
Rest days on January 11, 12 and 13Â
âš½ Semifinals
January 14
Winner QF1 vs Winner QF4 (Ibn Batouta Stadium, 6pm/17:00 GMT)
Winner QF3 vs Winner QF2 (Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)
Rest days on January 15 and 16
âš½ Third-place playoff
January 17
Loser SF1 vs Loser SF2 (Stade Mohammed V, 8pm local/19:00 GMT)
âš½ Final
January 18
Winner SF1 vs Winner SF2 (Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, 8pm local/19:00 GMT)
Internal view of the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat [File: Emre Asikci/Anadolu via Getty Images]
