The draw for the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations 2025 was held on Monday, January 27, in Rabat, Morocco, as 24 teams set to compete in Africa’s premier football competition have now learned their group stage opponents.
The 2025 edition of the tournament, which will take place in Morocco, will be the 35th edition of the competition and the tournament will begin on December 21, with the final taking place on 18 January 2026.
Inaugurated in 1957 with only three participants, the AFCON has subsequently expanded and, since 2019, has featured 24 teams in the finals.
Host nation Morocco landed alongside Mali, Zambia and Comoros in group A. The island nation Comoros shocked the field by making it to the Round of 16 stage in the 2021 AFCON. Holders Cote d’Ivoire are in Group F along with Cameroon, Gabon and Mozambique.
Three-time champions Super Eagles of Nigeria will be playing in the group along with Tunisia, Uganda and Tanzania.
2025 AFCON Group Stage Draw
Group A: Morocco (hosts), Mali, Zambia, Comoros
Group B: Egypt, South Africa, Angola, Zimbabwe
Group C: Nigeria, Tunisia, Uganda, Tanzania
Group D: Senegal, DR Congo, Benin, Botswana
The knockout rounds are scheduled as follows:
Round of 16: January 3-6, 2026
Quarter-finals: January 9-10, 2026
Semi-finals: January 14, 2026
Third-Place Playoff: January 17, 2026
Final: January 18, 2026
The top table toppers in each group at the end of a round robin format of games progress to the Round of 16 stage. The best four ranked third placed teams also get to progress from the group stage.
Ghana embarrassingly failed to appear at the AFCON for the first time since 2004 after running a winless qualifying series against Sudan, Angola and Niger picking just three points from six games.
